The Geekcast

The Geekcast #311 – Pebble, The Ultimate Nerd Watch

geekcast — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:00:33 +0000

Question of the week:What super power would you want and why?

Gozer: Invisibility, telekinesis

Aaron: Invisibilty

News:

Report: New MacBook Pro to feature retina display

The new 15-inch MacBook Pro will be a significant departure from the current design, with a retina display and an ultra-thin profile, 9to5Mac claims, citing sources from Apple’s supply chain.

It will be so thin, in fact, that it won’t have room for an optical drive, just like its lightweight cousin MacBook Air.

Other design changes include a power button on the keyboard itself (replacing the eject button) and, possibly, the lack of an Ethernet port (replaced by an extra Thunderbolt port).

The MacBook Pro’s new retina display — the same technology that’s in the new iPad — is described as “definitely the most important Mac innovation in years” by the sources who’ve handled a prototype of the device. The specifics are unknown, but users should be able to choose between several Retina resolution modes.

Finally, the new 15-inch MacBook Pro will have USB 3.0 support, and the latest Ivy Bridge processors from Intel are a safe bet, too.

If these rumors are true, the new 15-inch MacBook Pro might be one of the most important MacBook devices to see the light of day in recent years.

How do you like these specifications? What do you think about a 15-inch MacBook Pro without an optical drive?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/15/tech/gaming-gadgets/thinner-apple-macbook/index.html

Computer Legend and Gaming Pioneer Jack Tramiel Dies at Age 83

Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International and crucial figure in the early history of personal computing, passed away surrounded by his family on Sunday, his family confirms. He was 83 years old.

Tramiel was born in Poland to a Jewish family in 1928. During World War II, he and his family were sent to Auschwitz, after which he and his father were sent to a labor camp called Ahlem, near Hannover. Tramiel was rescued in April 1945 and emigrated to the United States in 1947.
In America, Tramiel started a typewriter repair business. Staying in the forefront of technology, his typewriters morphed into calculators, and later computers. In 1982, Commodore International launched the Commodore 64, which went on to the best-selling personal computer of all time. In 1984, after being forced to leave the company he founded, Jack bought the crumbling Atari Inc.’s Consumer Division and formed Atari Corporation.

“Jack Tramiel was an immense influence in the consumer electronics and computing industries. A name once uttered in the same vein as Steve Jobs is today, his journey from concentration camp survivor to captain of industry is the stuff of legends,” says Martin Goldberg, a writer working on a book about the Atari brand and the early days of video games and computing with Atari Museum founder Curt Vendel.
“His legacy are the generations upon generations of computer scientists, engineers, and gamers who had their first exposure to high technology because of his affordable computers – ‘for the masses and not the classes.’”
Tramiel is survived by his wife Helen, their three sons, Gary, Sam and Leonard, and their extended families.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/04/09/computer-legend-and-gaming-pioneer-jack-tramiel-dies-at-age-83/

Warning to you gamers who get GameInformer through Gamestop’s PowerUp program! Things are changing and we’ve been instructed not to tell you unless you ask!

About a year ago, GameStop started offering digital subscriptions to GameInformer magazine, you’d get your copy of the magazine through your email and you could also access its back catalog and what-not.

Well, because people like having actual books in their hands when they read and they like to actually have collections, the digital subscriptions have been doing EXTREMELY poorly, and the company doesn’t like that – presumably because it costs more for them to print the magazines than it does to email them.

Word was handed down from on-high yesterday that we lowly gamestop employees are supposed to push the digital subscriptions. That was fine, I’m okay with that. About an hour later, our District Manager called us up and told us that we’re not just supposed to push digital subscriptions, but that we are now to automatically sign subscribers up for the digital subscription at the time of their purchase or renewal without asking them. We were told that the only way a customer should be getting a print issue of the magazine is if they explicitly ask for it. That’s right: even you folks who have ALREADY TOLD US you want a print copy, if you renew your card, you will be signed up for a digital sub unless you explicitly ask for the physical copy.

I’ve got my own opinions on the matter, but just so I run as few risks as possible, I won’t put them out here. My job today is just to keep you informed because the company for which I work tells me I’m not allowed to.

Unless you explicitly ask for a physical magazine subscription, you’re getting digital. We’re not allowed to ask anymore, we’re just supposed to sign you up digital without informing you of the options.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/txoq5/warning_to_you_gamers_who_get_gameinformer/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Still big on the Pebble watch via Kickstarter. Excited to get it. Too many t-shirts from Woot and woot-like sites. MUST STOP!

Gozer: Comixology: Marvel Zombies & The Infinity War. Max Payne 3. Picked up for $50 a Sega Master System. Played the secret snail game hidden in the system. iPad or Vita?

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The Geek’s Choice: New G+ app for iOS

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Featured Segment:

Hands on with Pebble smartwatch, the most successful Kickstarter project ever

In the big scheme of consumer electronics, smartwatches can’t match smartphones, tablets, or even ultrabooks in piquing public curiosity.

And glancing at a photo of the Pebble smartwatch, you wouldn’t notice anything too different or special about it — it looks like an understated digital watch.

But this particular smartwatch has captured the public’s attention to the tune of $10 million in Kickstarter funding, making it the most-financed project in Kickstarter history.

Pebble, a smartwatch that wirelessly connects with your smartphone to alert you of incoming calls and messages, blew past the previous Kickstarter record of $3.3 million only five days after launching its crowdsourced funding effort. It’s an amazing feat when you consider just how many big-name smartphone and tablet brands are fighting for the same attention.

Time: Pebble Smartwatch pre-orders are sold out, $10 million pledged

What is it about the Pebble that made it such a breakout success? How is the small Pebble team going to put more than $10 million to use? And what, exactly, hides inside this insanely popular piece of hardware? We took a trip to Pebble’s Palo Alto office to find out.

Inside Pebble R&D

Pebble’s headquarters follows the grand tradition of small, Silicon Valley startups. Whereas Apple started its business in Steve Jobs’ garage, Pebble is located on the ground floor of Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky’s apartment. Granted, it’s a nice amount of space. There’s plenty of room for several desks, computers, a soldering station, and even a telepresence robot and remote-controlled helicopters. But for a $10 million operation, it’s still humble.

Of course, the Pebble team hasn’t gotten its hands on the money yet. The Kickstarter campaign officially ends on May 18, at which point all backers’ credit cards will be charged, and funding will be transferred to Pebble. (Kickstarter takes a 5 percent cut of the total raised money.)

But even without cash in hand, Migicovsky and team are moving forward with aggressive product development, a move they can make in confidence now that significant public support is in the bag. They’re adding new features — water resistance and Bluetooth 4.0 — and forging new app partnerships to extend the watch’s platform.

We had an hour of hands-on time with a Pebble prototype, and found that one of the most impressive features is the watch’s unique display. It looks brilliant in direct sunlight and reads like an e-paper display, but refreshes much faster.

“I love it so much. The display is so cool, it’s just this pure black display,” Migicovsky said. “As soon as I saw it, I knew we had a product.”

The Pebble team calls its watch’s display an e-paper display, in order to highlight its readability in direct sunlight. The specific component Pebble uses, however, is Sharp’s 1.26-inch Memory LCD. This screen doesn’t use the anti-reflective e-ink that’s so familiar in Kindle and Nook e-readers. Rather, it’s a reflective display that uses a PNLC (Polymer Networked Liquid Crystal) module for improved brightness, and HR-TFT (high-reflective thin film transistor) technology to add contrast.

One bit of memory is also embedded into every pixel. This makes it possible for each pixel to hold its state without much battery power. And with 144×168 pixels in such a tiny screen, the result is a sharp, paper-like reading experience with dramatic black levels. Thanks to the screen’s lower power consumption, the watch’s lithium ion polymer battery can keep going for seven days, Migicovsky says.

But it’s not only the display that makes the Pebble special. The smart, sophisticated design of the watch itself has also inspired public interest. It’s not a large, hulking piece of hardware. The watch looked a little big on my small wrist, but was significantly less bulky than the inPulse, a previous smartwatch effort by Migicovsky’s team.

Before deciding on the Pebble’s final design, the team sketched out a number of other possibilities.

“You do 10 designs or 20 designs, then you choose three, and then you design 10 more designs around each of those three, and then you choose a path. We did that for Pebble,” Migicovsky said.

Now that Pebble has officially sold out on Kickstarter — for a grand total of 85,000 watch orders — the team still has a lot of work ahead. In its current state, the Pebble prototype is powered by a circuit board that’s much larger than the watch itself. The PCB is attached to the watch with a maze of wires, and allows the team to prototype new software and debug the system before commissioning the final miniature board that will go inside the shipping product.

“It’s much easier to make a board like this — it took only two weeks — whereas if we want to make a miniature board it would take a lot longer and cost a lot more,” Migicovsky said. “If we made a mistake, we’d have to remake all of them again.”

The “Big Board” as Migicovsky calls it, executes all the features that you’ll see in the final Pebble. There are four buttons, a 3-axis accelerometer, a vibrating motor, Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR and 4.0, a microcontroller, and 4MB of memory.

Migicovsky says the team will design a final, miniature board within the next couple of weeks. Pebble has already ordered more than $1 million worth of components for the watch and will be taking a trip to China soon to visit manufacturers there. (Yes, your Pebble will be made in China.)

This is the part of Pebble production where Migicovsky sees potential problems.

“The hard part will be the manufacturing process. There will be things that will come up, and we’ll have to solve them,” Migicovsky said. “It could be anything. This is our first large-scale manufacturing. There will be some problems, guaranteed.”

While the hardware is impressive, where Pebble truly shines is in its software. Pebble will be the first smartwatch capable of connecting with Apple’s iPhone, a feature that’s helped it reach a mainstream market. Users will be able to customize their watchfaces to their own personal style, and access a number of built-in notification features for calls, text messages, tweets, e-mails, and weather.

What’s more, Pebble is partnering with third-party app developers to create compatible apps. The company already announced RunKeeper, the popular running and fitness app, as its first official partner. You’ll be able to use Pebble to control the RunKeeper app on your iPhone or Android smartphone.

Quick Alert for bumps in the night

Pebble has also built a partnership with another Kickstarter success, Twine. Twine, made by Supermechanical, is a small box-like device that has built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, an accelerometer, temperature sensors, and an optional moisture sensor and magnetic switch. Through a simple web interface, you can configure Twine alerts for real-world events. And soon Twine will connect with Pebble too.

For example, you could put Twine in your basement during the rainy season and set it to alert your Pebble if the basement starts flooding. The two companies also released a video showing another use case: Attach Twine to a door, and when someone knocks — tripping Twine’s accelerometer — you receive an alert on your Pebble that someone’s at the door.

“We believe in connecting many simple objects to do powerful things, and when a common backer of Eric’s and ours suggested that Twine and Pebble together would be like peanut butter and chocolate, we loved the idea.” John Kestner, Supermechanical co-founder, told Wired in an e-mail. “[Pebble] is tinkerer-friendly and a kindred post-PC spirit (it even uses the same low-power ARM processor [as Twine]) and by giving users the ability to incorporate Pebble into Twine rules, the possible applications grow exponentially.”

The Twine partnership only hints at the many ways a Pebble smartwatch might be useful in people’s day-to-day lives. The Pebble team will make an open software development kit available in August, allowing developers to create more applications for the Pebble platform.

Pebble has already made Kickstarter history, but it will be even more exciting to see what becomes of the watch once it begins shipping this September. Will it be everything that the 67,000-plus Kickstarter backers are expecting? We won’t know until we get our hands on one. It’s clear, at least, that the Pebble team is already working hard to make the best possible device for its initial supporters.

If you slacked off and didn’t get around to pre-ordering a Pebble watch on Kickstarter, don’t worry — you’ll eventually be able to order a Pebble from the company website.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/14/tech/gaming-gadgets/pebble-smartwatch-kickstarter-project/index.html

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Question of the week

Facebook, G+ or Twitter? Or all of the above?

Hey Guys

It’s been a while since I dropped you an email. Recently started and finished playing Witcher 2 Assassin of Kings.
A couple of guys I know who played it said the same thing – you love to hate it. Tutorials are okay but controls take a while
to get used to. When you win a battle or finish a mission you really feel you have earned your Orens or the occasional
good weapon. Its a pretty tough game (not as tough as Dark Souls 2) and has a lot of politics also there is a mad amount
nakedness in it!

Just started Max Payne 3. It’s awesome! Everything a follow up game should be; great controls, looks sharp and
some interesting characters.

Finally am currently playing Clear Vision on the iPhone. Simple and fun graphics and a great story. You work
in a supermarket, your boss keeps giving you crap and one day you quit. Of course naturally he decides to
become a hired killer. Stages start simple and get more complicated but well worth the price!

As always love the show and keep up the good work

-Barry
Cork, Ireland

PS watched the youtube video Gozers Layer – I thought my room was great.
Its nothing by comparison, also great music for the video

Audio feedback from Nikki

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Sponsors:

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The Geekcast #310 – The Avengers Review (Of Course)

geekcast — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:00:01 +0000

News:

Avengers: Battle for Earth could be Ubisoft-published tie-in game

Let’s face it: The new Avengers movie is one of the best comic-book-to-film adaptation to come out in a long time (thanks, Joss Whedon). Given its big-budget status and plethora of superheroes, it only stands to reason that the next step is a film-to-video game adaptation, and that apparently has already begun.

Marvel, through brand protection firm MarkMonitor, has registered the domain for Avengers: Battle for Earth and it is currently sitting on Ubisoft servers.

The fact that Ubisoft is involved is puzzling, since Marvel’s VP of games production TQ Jefferson told Forbes that the new movie game would be coming from Disney, which purchased the comics giant in 2009. Jefferson also said that Sega would no longer be involved with the games and Disney Interactive would take over. Marvel: Avengers Alliance is already a Facebook game through Disney’s Playdom brand.

In late 2011, videos surfaced on YouTube showing an Avengers game being developed by THQ’s Studio Australia before it was closed down. The videos were removed soon after the story broke.

Ubisoft refused to comment, but we’ve also reached out to Marvel and Disney to see what gamers can expect in the way of an Avengers game. Whether it comes from Ubisoft or Disney, something is brewing.

http://www.shacknews.com/article/73678/marvel-registers-avengers-domain-for-possible-game

Twitter fights government subpoena demanding Occupy Wall Street protester info

Twitter has asked a New York state judge to throw out a court order requiring it to turn over three months worth of messages posted by an Occupy Wall Street protester being prosecuted for disorderly conduct.

In a motion (PDF) filed on Monday in New York City Criminal Court, Twitter lawyers argued the city’s district attorney’s office is overstepping its authority in ordering the handing-over of tweets and other subscriber info of Malcolm Harris, whose handle on the microblogging site is @destructuremal. Prosecutors seeking the data failed to get a court warrant based on probable cause, making an order they obtained earlier a violation of federal law and the Constitution’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, the Twitter brief argued.

“If the order stands, Twitter will be put in the untenable position of either providing user communications and account information in response to all subpoenas or attempting to vindicate its users’ rights by moving to quash these subpoenas itself—even though Twitter will often know little or nothing about the underlying facts necessary to support their users’ argument that the subpoenas may be improper,” Twitter’s attorneys argued.

Rather than get a warrant based on probable cause, the New York City prosecutors cited the Stored Communications Act, which requires only that investigators show the requested information is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation. After receiving the demand, Twitter provided notification to Harris, who challenged the demand on the grounds that the information prosecutors were seeking fell outside the limitations of the statute. Last month, New York Criminal Court Judge Matthew A. Sciarrino, Jr. denied Harris’s motion (PDF), arguing he had no legal standing to challenge the subpoena because he had no proprietary interest in the data investigators sought.

Twitter’s brief argued that Sciarrino’s order contradicts the terms of service provisions guaranteeing users “retain rights to any content [they] submit, post, or display” on the site.

“To hold otherwise imposes a new and overwhelming burden on Twitter to fight for its users’ rights, since the order deprives its users of the ability to fight for their own rights when faced with a subpoena from New York State.”

Monday’s brief also argued that Sciarrino’s order would force Twitter to violate federal law because the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment requires service providers to disclose user communications only when presented with a valid search warrant. As support, the attorneys cited a 2010 ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that said government prosecutors couldn’t rely on the Stored Communications Act to get the e-mail of a man they were investigating for fraud. They also said the statute doesn’t cover communications that are less than 180 days old. Prosecutors investigating Harris are seeking tweets sent from September 15 to December 31 of last year, meaning some of the requested information won’t be 180 days old until the end of June.

The Twitter attorneys also cited a unanimous US Supreme Court ruling from last year holding that FBI investigators had to obtain a search warrant before using a GPS device attached to a suspect’s vehicle to track his whereabouts for four weeks.

“If the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement applies merely to surveillance of one’s location in public areas for 28 days, it also applies to the District Attorney’s effort to force Twitter to produce over three months worth of a citizen’s substantive communications, regardless of whether the government alleges those communications are public or private,” the brief argued.

Twitter has frequently gone beyond the call of duty in notifying users of government demands to turn over their information. In late 2010 or early 2011, site representatives informed users who were named in a previously sealed court order that sought IP addresses associated with WikiLeaks and several of its supporters. Both Google and California-based ISP Sonic.net, according to The Wall Street Journal, fought for the right to inform at least one of the users of secret orders seeking the data. According to an attorney representing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Facebook, and Skype (which was then owned by eBay) received demands for similar information and never disclosed how they responded.

“There’s this issue of confidence in third-party service providers and how much they’re going to make the government fight for user information,” Venkat Balasubramani, a legal blogger and technology lawyer in Seattle, told Ars. “Twitter is one of the companies that’s building a reputation of a company that will fight the battle. From that standpoint Twitter is notable.”

Indeed, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a side-by-side comparison dubbed Who Has Your Back, last year gave Twitter props for regularly warning users of data demands and fighting for user privacy. Other companies, including Comcast, MySpace, and Skype, didn’t fare as well in the analysis.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/05/twitter-fights-government-subpoena-demanding-occupy-wall-street-protester-info.ars

Microsoft officially offering Xbox 360 4GB console for $99, two-year Live Gold subscription required

Whoa, Nelly! As rumored, Microsoft is indeed shattering the home console pricing paradigm by trying something that US wireless carriers have been doing for years. As of now, the official Microsoft Store is hosting up a coupon that’ll enable prospective Xbox buyers to snag a 4GB console bundle for just $99 (a $200 savings versus the outright unit)… so long as you agree to pay $14.99 per month for two solid years. That monthly fee — which amounts to some $360 over the 24 month term — gets you on the Xbox Live network with a Gold subscription, but remember, Microsoft’s maintaining the ability to “terminate this offer at any time.” Looking to score one yourself? Hit the source link and visit that “Find a store” icon; hopefully there’s a B&M Microsoft Store near your neck of the woods.

Update: In case you’re curious, yes, early termination fees will apply if you cut out of your two-year deal early. It’s a prorated affair, with users asked to pay less the longer they maintain the contract. Those who part ways after only a month will have to pay $250, while those who cancel with just a month remaining will owe $12. All told, someone buying this and keeping true to the contract terms will pay $459 for the bundle and Live access, whereas those buying outright could snag it for $420 (or less, if scouring the web for cheaper Live subscriptions). The full ETF schedule is shown after the break.

Update II: Joystiq has confirmed that, for now, this is simply a pilot program. These machines will be sold only through the 16 US-based Microsoft Stores, and we can only assume the marketing and finance folks at the company will be watching reception like hawks.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/07/microsoft-officially-offering-xbox-360-4gb-console-for-99-dollars/

Google+ Hangouts on Air live broadcasting is now out of beta

Google+ users can now broadcast live public video feeds and video conferences via webcams through its Hangouts on Air feature, which was previously only available to a select number of accounts. Google announced today that Hangouts on Air is now out of beta and will be rolled out to all of its users worldwide.

Google implemented videoconferencing via its Hangouts feature when it released Google+, though at the time the broadcasting was limited to those users who were joining in the video conference (there’s a limit to 10 per session). Hangouts on Air now lets users broadcast their own version of a television channel publicly. The application provides similar functionality to competing services such as UStream, Livestream, and Justin.tv by opening video webcam streams for public viewing. In Hangouts on Air, anyone can watch a video session. Google+ is also encouraging users to browse and casually join these hangouts via Google+’s revamped hangouts page, where users can find sessions that are currently taking place. Live broadcasts are automatically recorded to the host user’s YouTube channel for later viewing or embedding. Users can also embed their live broadcasts on other websites, effectively expanding the reach of the Google+ platform beyond registered users of its service.

Hangouts on Air does require users to enable the new feature, and they must also review and agree to its terms of service. Doing so will also link the user’s Google+ account to their YouTube channel. In some cases, users may also need to upgrade Google’s voice and video plugin for Web browsers. Google says the feature is rolling out to users starting today, so it may take some time to see it enabled in users’ individual accounts.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/05/google-hangouts-on-air-live-broadcasting-is-now-out-of-beta.ars

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Silversun Pickups new album. Going NUTS on Kickstarter. Backed the Brydge iPad adaptor and also the Pebble ePaper watch. Also finally started Clash of Kings. Another 42+ hours of audio!

Gozer: Samurai Blood Show & Steve Jobs Biography

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The Geek’s Choice: Top 10 things from BTTF that actually came true !!

http://www.popcrunch.com/10-inventions-from-back-to-the-future-that-actually-came-true/?img=113185

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Featured Segment: The Avengers

1) Gozer’s Review

The Avengers is the new king of the opening weekend.The superhero movie grossed a unprecedented $200.3 million in its Friday-Sunday box-office debut, its studio estimated. The film is the first to break $200 million in three days. It destroyed the mark held by the previous weekend record-holder, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Avengers Is Simply Super

The Avengers started out big—taking in $18.7 million in midnight screenings—and got bigger: $80.5 million for all of Friday; $69.7 million on Saturday, a new record for that day; and, a projected $50.1 million on Sunday.

The film easily bested the opening-weekend performances of the Marvel Studios movies whose hero-stars were assembled for The Avengers: Iron Man ($99 million) and Iron Man 2 ($128 million); Thor ($66 million); and, Captain America ($65 million).

It blew away even the superhero-record $158.4 million posted by The Dark Knight, and raised the bar considerably for the Batman franchise’s upcoming adventure, The Dark Knight Rises, due out July 20.

The Avengers made money the old-fashioned way: Everybody bought tickets.
The opening-weekend audience was evenly split between the young (under age 25) and the older (over age 25), polling data showed. It was watched by women (40 percent) almost as much as men. It worked as a date-night movie (55 percent of ticket-buyers were part of couples), and a family movie (24 percent were part of a family group).
And then there was perhaps the most quaint thing of all: People went to see it in 3-D.

The once-promising, then presumed-dead format represented slightly more than half of all ticket sales.

In IMAX, the movie grossed about $15 million, roughly tying it for that format’s biggest-ever opening weekend.
“IMAX had one big issue,” IMAX exec Greg Foster said in an email. “We ran out of seats to sell!”
The people who saw the movie liked the movie, and, if possible, liked it more than critics. The Joss Whedon-directed film was graded an A-plus by audiences.After just over a week in release worldwide, The Avengers has grossed $641.8 million overall.

Here’s an Avengers-revised rundown of the top 10 all-time opening weekends, as compiled per BoxOfficeMojo.com stats:

The Avengers, $200.3 million
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, $169.2 million
The Dark Knight, $158.4 million
The Hunger Games, $152.5 million
Spider-Man 3, $151.1 million
The Twilight Saga: New Moon, $142.8 million
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, $138.1 million
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, $135.6 million
Iron Man 2, $128.1 million
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, $125 million

http://www.eonline.com/news/avengers_smashes_opening-weekend_record/314126?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_topstories

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Question of the week

What super power would you want and why?

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #309 – Chelsea Sexton Talks EVs

geekcast — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:30:14 +0000

News:

Is Time Warner bringing its live streaming TV service to Roku boxes?

After debuting on iOS and later expanding to web browsers and Android, Time Warner’s live streaming TV service, TWC TV, may soon be made available for Roku set top boxes. Citing an unnamed source, Engadget claims that company representatives are currently being briefed on the software, but cautions that a public rollout could still be several months away.

With Comcast’s Xfinity app launching on the Xbox 360 last month, potentially reaching millions of new users via Xbox Live, the heat is on for Time Warner to offer its streaming service on more devices.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/28/2982500/time-warner-iptv-service-roku-box-rumor

Dates of possible ICS upgrades for T-Mobile devices revealed

If you have a T-Mobile device in your possession, an upgrade to Android 4.0 may be in your nearby future. At least, until June anyway.

Tmo News, an unofficial blog covering T-Mobile, got a hold of a 2012 enterprise calendar, which details possible launch dates for Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades on three of the carrier’s devices.
Among the devices listed are HTC’s Sensation 4G and Amaze 4G – both are slated to get ICS on June 16. The third is the Samsung Galaxy S II, which was a tentative upgrade date of May 14.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57423524-94/dates-of-possible-ics-upgrades-for-t-mobile-devices-revealed/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver

Watch this: ‘Go right,’ a compilation of side-scrollers new and old

“Go right” — it’s a command, but it’s also the singular way that many video game heroes, heroines, and villans can go to make progress when confined to the limits of a side-scroller or 2D platformer. YouTube user RockyPlanetesimal has taken that aspect of games to create an epic compilation of titles from over the years that follows the ups and downs of composer Michael Nyman’s “A Wild and Distant Shore.” In a time when only the most stubborn of game creators maintain the limitations side-scrollers (e.g. the fantasticRayman: Origins), the quick video makes us realize just how creative developers have been over the years in making so many excellent titles that only have one way to win: to keep on going right.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/28/2985194/watch-this-go-right-a-compilation-of-side-scrollers-new-and-old

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Geek This Week:

Aaron:

Gozer:

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The Geek’s Choice: Hallmark 2012 Ornaments

Talk about catering to the geeks! This catalog has tons of Trek and Star Wars, but a few other awesome things. BTTF, Ghostbusters, and Thundercats represent too!

You can view the full catalog at http://www.hallmark.com/online/product/keepsake-ornaments/2012-dream-online.aspx

Some highlights:

Darth Vader Peekbuster – http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1995QXI2971_DK

Ralphie Sees The Light – http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1495QXI2881_DK

OUTATIME – http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1795QXI2944_DK

E.T. – http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1795QXI2984_DK

Stay Puft Marshmallow Menace – http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1795QXI2954_DK

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Featured Segment: Interview with Chelsea Sexton

- @ForbesTech: How One Chevrolet Dealer Is Selling 25 Volts a Month http://t.co/1FlwqAcs

- Saw my first Nissan Leaf in the wild 2-weeks ago. Seen many more Volts in the wild. Just a regional thing or telling of sales or something more?
-You attended the ‘Covering Electric Cars’ panel. Tell us more about it. – Covering Electric Cars (4/23/12)
- What is Chelsea really into right now when it comes to EV’s? (a specific tech, an upcoming car, legislation, etc)
- You’ve been quite vocal about CA’s deal for charging stations with a particular company. Why?
-Tell us more about ‘Revenge of the Electric Car’. What was the thought behind it while filming? What has the reception been? Feedback / action taken on it?

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Have had a Nest for a couple of weeks. After figuring out my little mis-wiring problem, the Nest seems to be learning our schedule and adapting itself nicely. I just don’t have enough data
to figure out if we’re saving money.

Cheers,

Ed Hortelano

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #308 – Nest Learning Thermostat Review

geekcast — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:29:32 +0000

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question: What “future” technology would you like to see become the norm?

Aaron: self-driving cars that Google is working on. Full-on automated assitants. Think Siri on steroids.

Gozer: artificial organs & holograms

News:

Google Drive officially launches with 5GB free storage, Google Docs integration

Google has just made Google Drive official. As expected, the service will offer 5GB of storage space for documents, videos, photos, PDFs and other files, and Google Docs is built-in to the service. Users will be able to upgrade to 25GB of space for $2.49 a month, 100GB for $4.99 a month, or 1TB for $49.99 a month, and upgrading to a paid account will expand your Gmail storage to 25GB.

Google Docs functionality within Google Drive will allow users to work with others in real-time (as you can currently do in Google Docs), and includes the ability to share content with others, add and reply to comments, and receive notifications for new comments on documents or files. Google says you can also search everything in Drive by keyword, or filter by file type, owner, and other criteria. The service can also recognize text in scanned documents.

Google says Drive is “built to work seamlessly with your overall Google experience,” which means that users can attach photos to Drive to posts in Google+, and will soon be able to attach files from Drive directly to emails in Gmail. Google also says that Drive is an open platform, and that it is working with third-party developers to allow users to “send faxes, edit videos, and create website mockups directly from Drive.” Overall it’s sounding a lot like Dropbox with its initial feature set, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Google Drive is available now for PC, Mac, and Android, and will come soon to the iPhone and iPad.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/24/2971025/google-drive-official-launch-features

Gmail bumps free storage to 10GB

Along with the launch of Google Drive today, the company is tossing a bonus to Gmail customers as well: they’ll now get 10GB of email storage at no cost. That’s up from the 7.5GB that users were getting before — and as always, that number will slowly creep up over time. Google says to expect the bump as a rolling change over the next 24 hours.

If you pay for extra storage — and many users might consider doing that to take full advantage of Drive’s capabilities — that storage will be shared with Gmail and you’ll end up getting more than the base 10GB anyway. If you’re sticking with the free product, though, bear in mind that Drive’s capacity will still be limited to 5GB.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/24/2971885/gmail-bumps-free-storage-to-10gb

Netflix Q1 results: 3 million new streaming subscribers worldwide, record viewing hours

Netflix has posted its earnings report for Q1 of 2012, and reveals its streaming subscriber count in the US is currently 23.4 million, after reaching 21.67 million back in January. While the company noted a net loss of about $5 million, the letter from CEO Reed Hastings and CFO David Wells claimed it is still on a “rapid return” to profitability after last year’s missteps and international expansions. Worldwide it now counts a total of 26 million subscribers to the streaming service, although it lost another million or so subscribers to discs, which currently number 10.09 million. That old disc business is still highly profitable however, adding $146 million to the bottom line. Internationally, Netflix added more customers in its first three months of UK / Ireland availability than it did in the same period for Latin America or Canada, and expects its Canadian service to be profitable a quarter earlier than expected.

Reed Hastings also took the opportunity to toss another barb at Comcast for its bandwidth cap-exempt Xfinity TV Xbox 360 app, claiming it should either raise its caps, make them apply to all services including its own or eliminate them entirely. Another development in Q1 was the loss of streaming titles from Starzbut it claims that caused no discernible change in viewing or subscriber hours, while customers continue to lean towards streaming TV episodes over movies. Hit the source links below to paw through the PDF and spreadsheet for yourself, we’ll let you know if any interesting tidbits are revealed on the earnings call later today.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/23/netflix-q1-results/

Skype Now Available on PlayStation Vita

Well, there goes all those Sunday afternoons gaming in your birthday suit. Skype just announced that you can download its video and voice calling app for free on the PlayStation Vita. You know what that means? Hours of uncharted smack talk with your fellow gamers.

Today’s announcement isn’t a game-changer, but it does address recent criticism that Sony hasn’t launched enough new, exciting games and features since the PS Vita debuted in late February. With Skype, PS Vita is now the first portable player to offer this sort of face-to-face chatting.

“I am always in search for a next big thing,” says PC gamer and 12-time world champion Fatal1ty, one of the first to test out the new service. “When I heard Skype was going to be featured on PS Vita, my first thought was this was going to be the device that sets the bar for all new gaming consoles — connecting with family and friends while playing your favorite game.”

Skype on PS Vita runs in background mode while you’re playing a game or using other apps. But you can pause your game, make a call, then pick back up where you left off. The high-resolution screen really does looks fantastic, and it’s easy to plug in to your existing Skype contacts. You can also use the front and rear-facing cameras during a Skype call for that whole “camera one… camera two…” effect.

http://mashable.com/2012/04/24/skype-arrives-on-ps-vita/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Realizing my reliance on my iPad as my main computing device. Rarely using my iMac except for the heavy lifting.

NHL playoffs. I don’t care that it’s not geeky!

New upcoming Silversun Pickups album. Very excited about that.

Gozer: New HP printer with airprint. Hunger Games. Walking Dead books from Mahhk

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The Geek’s Choice:

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Featured Segment: Review: Nest Learning Thermostat

A full hands-on review of the smartest thermostat you’ll ever see.

“@GotNoSpice Love It!”

“@anthonyabianchi I love my Nest – but I love the iPhone app even more. Being able to control my heating from anywhere is just incredible.”

From Mike Masin: I’m a lazy geek; I like smart devices that don’t make me work I wish the other appliances in my house, from my toaster to my DVR were like my nest. Smart, well designed, reliable, efficient, and good-looking.

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

What geeky things does your significant other complain the most about you?

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #307 – PAX East Rundown

geekcast — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:00:26 +0000

Google X reveals “Project Glass”, an augmented reality visor

We’ve all seen what happens when technology becomes portable and connected to everything around us — we get fatally bad driving and people walking into water fountains — but what if your smartphone could be a visor, glasses or even a pair of contact lenses? This is what Google has been researching and no, it’s definitely not an April Fool’s joke.

“Project Glass” is a blue-sky project by Google’s mysterious research and development arm, Google X. The project aims to augment your everyday experiences by superimposing a layer of visual indicators directly onto your field of vision. The HUD-like apparatus would keep you connected to your friends, provide data about your surroundings and potentially do anything your smartphone can do, but merely at a glance. This visual layer would be fed to your eyes through some device like a visor or contact lenses, giving you translucent alerts, messages, maps and more.

These types of projects tend to be hush-hush, top-secret stuff, but Google claims it wants the public’s input on what they would like to see with such technology.

We think technology should work for you — to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t.

A group of us from Google[x] started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment. We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input. So we took a few design photos to show what this technology could look like and created a video to demonstrate what it might enable you to do.

Please follow along as we share some of our ideas and stories. We’d love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?

Source: Project Glass, Google+

Eerily reminiscent of Caprica’s “holoband” emitter, Google’s concept of what the final design may look like shows a visor-like device hovering over the brow-lines of people more symmetrical than most. It sounds like science fiction, but there’s no reason it has to be a visor though — and you probably won’t have to be a model to wear it. In fact, Project Glass team member Barbak Parviz, has been working on contact lenses which may be able to accomplish the same thing.

http://www.techspot.com/news/48063-google-x-reveals-project-glass-an-augmented-reality-visor.html

Dolby Labs and Philips unveil Dolby 3D tech, want to deliver glasses-free 3D in HD

Dolby helped the 3D revolution happen in movie theaters years ago, and now it’s teamed up with Philips to do the same for TVs, tablets, laptops and phones. The two companies have created a format and content delivery technology, dubbed Dolby 3D, to bring high definition 3D content to any and all devices with 3D displays, including those that don’t require glasses.

Its secret sauce automatically optimizes video for different screen sizes and also upgrades half-resolution 3D to full-res. The idea is to provide both broadcasters and OEMs with a way to deliver 3D HD content to customers buying Dolby 3D devices, while remaining compatible with existing 3D gadgets. All that’s left is to actually build some hardware that’ll let us see all those snazzy suits from Mad Men in high-def and the third dimension.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/14/dolby-labs-and-philips-unveil-dolby-3d-tech-want-to-deliver-gla/

Google+ rolls out new look

(Mashable) — Google announced on Wednesday that it is rolling out a significant redesign for its social networking platform Google+, which will allow users to create a more customized experience on the site.

The company said it will introduce a variety of new features to the site in the next few days, from customizing apps and the navigation bar to more flexibility with profile pages and pictures. In addition, the update introduces a new Explore page that posts what’s interesting and trending across the site.

Google also noted that the social network now boasts more than 170 million users since it’s 2011 launch.

Google+ will now offer profile pages that will include bigger photos, a la Facebook’s Timeline, and feature a chat list that puts friends front and center on your page. Another major update involves how users can navigate around the news stream. Instead of static icons at the top, there’s a ribbon of apps on the left.

Marissa Mayer: Google’s leading woman

The ribbon allows users to drag apps up or down to create the order, hover over certain apps to reveal a set of quick actions and show or hide apps by moving them out of the section.

“Taken together, these powers make it easier to access your favorites, and to adjust your preferences over time,” Google senior vice president Vic Gundotra wrote on Google’s Official Blog. “We’ve also built the ribbon with the future in mind, giving us an obvious (and clutter-free) space for The Next Big Feature, and The Feature After That. So stay tuned.”

A dedicated Hangouts page has also been added to the site, so people can have quick access to public and On Air video chat hangouts. This will allow Google+ users to meet new people and watch live broadcasts, as well as enter new rooms via a rotating billboard of Hangouts.

“It’s still early days, and there’s plenty left to do, but we’re more excited than ever to build a seamless social experience, all across Google,” Gundotra said.

What do you think of the redesign? Do you think Google+ will ever be able to compete with Facebook? Let us know in the comments.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/11/tech/social-media/google-plus-new-look/index.html

Skyrim coming to Kinect

Called “Project Adam,” Bethesda began formulating the idea of merging Kinect’s voice capabilities to “Skyrim” shortly after the game’s release in November.

Pete Hines, vice president of marketing and public relations for Bethesda, told CNN.com in an exclusive interview before the official announcement that the developer wanted to add functionality that didn’t exist in the original release.

“When you do things, like when you are on the map, you uncover a lot of map markers and quests to go to a particular place. [With Kineck] you can use voice commands to do things very easily, to jump to different cities on the map,” Hines said. “Even doing things in inventory like sorting by weight, by value — that functionality doesn’t exist in ‘Skyrim’ as it is. With Kinect, it unlocks a lot of new options.”

Hines said the development team also wanted to enhance gameplay. Voice control naturally leant itself to “Shouts,” special vocal powers that the players have access to in the game.

“You have your full arsenal of Shouts available using Kinect without having to stop, go to a menu, pick the one you want to use, and go back in the game and use it,” he said. “You just say the Shout, and as long as you have the ability, your character will just use it on the fly.”

Kinect will also let players use voice commands to arm weapons, activate spells and tell your companions what to do. The commands are designed to be intuitive, and Matt Barlow, general manager of Xbox Marketing, said Kinect support will add more than 200 voice commands to the game, providing a new level of access for fans that goes beyond the controller.

“Working closely with the talented team at Bethesda, they have done an amazing job of honoring the core gameplay functionality fans of “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” know and love and using Kinect for Xbox 360 voice control integration to complement and strengthen the core experience without changing the fundamental game mechanics,” Barlow said.

While two other games (“Mass Effect 3″ and “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13″) also use the Kinect for voice control, Barlow said allowing players easy access to menus and inventories, and to quickly create and load saves during gameplay is unique to “Skyrim.”

However, don’t get the idea you’ll be waving your arms around in front of Kinect as you fight a dragon. Combat and casting magic will still be done through the handheld Xbox 360 controller. But simple actions that could be done through menus will be available easier with the Kinect.

“(Totally replacing the handheld controller) would be a whole other can of worms,” Hines said. “Doing combat and swinging your sword and all that stuff without a controller would dramatically change the game. We’re trying to enhance the experience as we designed it with some additional functionality.”

Hines said the Kinect functionality will be an update to the existing game that will automatically download when Bethesda is ready to release it sometime later this month. Players won’t have to do anything to enable the voice commands and will have the option to turn the Kinect functionality off if they choose.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/12/tech/gaming-gadgets/elder-scrolls-skyrim-kinect/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: The @WereGoingBack BTTF account tweeted a link to the trailer for a new time travel movie called ‘Looper’ starring Bruce Willis & Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Looks interesting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCNKahG1ksg

Cain’s Arcade: Amazing & heartwarming take of a 9-year old who has an arcade. Watch the short film! http://cainesarcade.com/

House tech: Electric lawnmower, screw gun, leaf vacuum, BBQ, Nest.

Gozer: Red Bank, NJ ( Jay & Silent Bob’s & Yestercade ) HBO Go Issues. Boardwalk Empire Season 2 & Game of Thrones

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The Geek’s Choice: 2 Documentaries

Being Elmo & Comic Con Episode 4 A Fan’s Hope

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Featured Segment: Pax East Coverage ( according to thegamefanatics.com )

Best Non-Playable Title

Assassin’s Creed III

We were a bit shocked to see a massive booth designated for Assassin’s Creed III and while we were a bit disappointed not to get any hands on time with the title, the new trailer definitely left an impression on us. The newest numbered entry in the popular franchise is ready to bring out all the stops, bringing us to the front lines of the American Revolution and interacting us with important figures in our country’s history. It certainly helps that the environments are breathtaking, the possibilities for new assassinations are endless, and the controls revamped, there’s not a doubt in our minds that this will be the best Assassin’s Creed yet.

Runner Up: X-COM: Enemy Unknown

Best Booth

Harmonix

Rock Band fever, if Harmonix‘s booth was any indication, has not died down; it has only grown tenfold. With their attempt to revitalize interest in the music franchise with Rock Band Blitz working wonders, PAX attendees gladly lined up around the Rock Band stage to watch and cheer on fellow con goers as they live out their rock star dreams, only to get their own chance moments later. It was a non stop party we loved attending.

Runner Up: Riot Games

Best MMORPG

TERA

Western Gamers have yet to embrace the grind of a South Korean MMO, but then again, we haven’t seen one with a combat system like TERA‘s. Whether it was with the hot keys we had mapped on our keyboard or the comfort of a controller, jumping into groups of enemies and combo-ing our way to victory was satisfying, and to think, all of this was before we had a chance to step back and explore the world and take in the scenery. Here’s to hoping TERA sets a trend in terms of MMO combat.

Runner Up: The Secret World

Best Shooter

Spec Ops: The Line

This one came out of left field. Between the hype of Ghost Recon, Far Cry 3, and Max Payne 3, Spec Ops: The Line won us over with tight gameplay, dedication to narrative, and impressive visual images. Traversing through a deserted Dubai left quite an impression on us, as did the simplicity of ordering our squad mates in real time. Spec Ops: The Line shakes the notion of being “just another brown shooter” and is ready to step toe to toe with the big boys.

Runner Up: Super Monday Night Combat

Best MOBA

Smite

While we already knew that Tribes: Ascend is in good hands with High Rez Studios, Smite proves that the developer knows how to craft a great game. Taking the MOBA genre into a new direction with a third person camera, the game’s pace ran laps around MOBA staples such as DotA 2 and League of Legends. If you were able to spend five minutes watching the games on their televisions, you’d understand why there was such a crowd drawn to the booth; Smite is a blast to watch, and even a bigger blast to play.

Runner Up: Awesomenauts

Best PC

Firefall

We’ve been waiting for a break out MMOFPS for quite some time and Red 5 may have hit the mark. While there isn’t revolutionary about the quests themselves, they don’t have to be, since Firefall gave us the impression that we’re up against some pretty serious odds and need to use every weapon in our arsenal to kill those twenty spiders or get those ten artifacts. Combining the challenge of a shooter and the grind of an MMO is an absolute perfect marriage. Plus, it’s free to play!

Runner Up: Neverwinter

Best Console

Rock Band Blitz

It’s such a simple title that brings us back to Harmonix‘s roots, yet one that was hard to put down. In the middle of the Rock Band party was Rock Band Blitz, a game so addicting yet simple it has me impatiently awaiting its release. Perhaps the best part about the title is the fact that anyone can pick it up, regardless of skill level and without fumbling around with plastic instruments, and in their own reality, live out their rock star dreams. We’ve known for quite some time that Harmonix is the best at the music genre; Rock Band Blitz affirms this notion tenfold.

Runner Up: Sleeping Dogs

Best Handheld

Theatrythm Final Fantasy

Boy, were we wrong about Theatrythm. Not only will the title celebrating 25 years of Final Fantasy provide nostalgia for the series veterans, as well as a way for Square Enix to bring in a new audience to the series and introducing them to some of the best musical numbers in video gaming history, but provide a challenge for those who want one. After going through the original song selections in our hands on time, which were admittedly a bit easy, we found a couple of harder tracks that tested or skills. Theatrythm Final Fantasy is poised to be a curve ball from Square Enix that will indeed catch the plate.

Runner Up: Mario Tennis Open

Best Indie

Loadout

Tucked away in the corner of the show floor was Loadout, a game we were all urged to play. The premise is simple: create your own weapon and bring it into battle with you. While some minor tweaks are needed to balance out some of the game’s default weapons, the possiblities for your own weapon are endless. You can choose to snipe from a-far with a rail gun, bring the battle up close and rain bullets, or jump from above and rain rockets down on your competition. Gamers who love tweaking and customization have found an indie title to fall in love with.

Runner Up: Quacamelee

Best In Show

Max Payne 3

We had the chance to sit down with Rockstar to check out Max Payne 3 and what we saw left us craving more of Mr. Payne. Rockstar told us that they are aiming to make Max Payne 3 the “most sophisticated and cinematic action shooter” to date. With a focus on cinematography and improved mechanics, Max Payne 3 is setting itself apart from other games in the genre with its uniqueness. The guys at Rockstar spent a lot of work on Max Payne 3, down to the fact that each bullet is individually modelled and uniquely-animated. To say that it’s poised to meet the developers high standards is an understatement.

http://thegamefanatics.com/2012/04/13/game-fanatics-pax-east-2012-2/

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question: What “future” technology would you like to see become the norm?

From @jamesnelis Check it! – http://www.amazon.com/Casio-CA53W-1-Twincept-Databank-Ani-Digi/dp/B000GB1R7S/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t
Reissue of Marty’s watch from B2TF, for throw away money

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #306 – Instagram Makes iPhone Owners Feel Uncool

geekcast — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:00:26 +0000

News:

Instagram for Android hands-on

By now, you’ve got to be familiar with Instagram. Sure, you may have never used the app, which until mere minutes ago had yet to make its way beyond iOS, but you’ve surely seen the results, in tweets, emails or littering your Facebook feed. And beginning this very moment, you can join in on the fun, even if you’ve never owned an Apple device. We took instantly to Instagram for Android — the app offers an experience nearly identical to the iOS version, though the ability to capture and manipulate images on a larger device brought a unique twist to the wildly popular image manipulation experience.

We decided to start off our snaps with a Samsung Galaxy Note, which not only offers a brilliant 1280 x 800-pixel display, but also a 5.3-inch surface on which to frame images and preview filters. Beyond the enormous variety of capture tools now available, it seems that not much has changed — your favorite filters are still there, making those smartphone shots glow just as brilliantly as before. And, if you happen to despise the Instagram effect, this would probably be a good time to take that long-planned holiday from social media — if it hasn’t already, your screen is about to explode with colorful perfect squares of image funk goodness.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/03/instagram-for-android-hands-on/

The Worst Things About the ’90s

Four terrible things that happened in a decade of great video games.

Sega’s Decline

Sega ended the ’80s on a high note by launching a successful 16-bit console that made the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System look old and busted by comparison. This big win helped them finally penetrate Nintendo’s market dominance and, for Sega, the boisterous chest-beating wouldn’t stop there. “Genesis does what Nintendon’t” ads and the debut of their speedy blue mascot, Sonic, in 1991 helped the Japanese company continue to gain mindshare leading up the launch of the rival Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The head start helped Sega start the ’90s as hip and cool, fast and flexible, or so everyone initially thought.

By 1995, Sega flooded the market with add-ons that quickly undermined their vision for the next level of video games. These ill-fitting platforms appeared to be quick reactions meant to keep the company competitive against rival console makers. But the Sega CD and 32X both suffered from lack of software support. Developers abandoned working on the 32X in favor of developing software for Sega’s next big thing, the Sega Saturn. Yet, even the Saturn eventually lost huge ground to the Sony’s PlayStation for its quadrilateral-based rendering method, a contributing factor to the consoles’ early demise. These failed platforms lead to a lot of money problems down the road for Sega. Despite the Dreamcast being an amazing little system that helped carry the company into the next decade, Sega’s pockets weren’t deep enough to recoup their previous losses and the company later dropped out of the console manufacturing altogether.

Failed Consoles and Ideas

It’s painful to think of the number of consoles that failed in the ’90s — although friends tell me that the ’70s and ’80s were just as bad — but the costs of these new systems hurt early adopters even more. The first 3DO console cost $699; the Neo Geo AES cost about $50 less; and the Sega Saturn debuted at $399 — a price point that would later become standard for consoles nearly a decade later.

Unsurprisingly, most of the failed platforms had flaws. The Turbografx-16 required a multi-tap accessory just to plug in a second controller. Early CD-based consoles like the 3DO embraced Full Motion Video — video sequences filmed with real actors that were set to button prompts that simulated the act of playing a game — as the future of games, and despite FMV’s increased visual fidelity, their limited interactivity made them obsolete. Although the Atari Jaguar was advertised at the first 64-bit system, the 12-button phone keyboard grafted to the bottom of the controller made it overly complex. The Panasonic CDi had a few video games along with educational and self-help software, but infamously lives on as the platform that brought us the terrible Zelda games Wand of Gamelon, The Faces of Evil, and Link’s Adventures.

Falling Out Between Square and Nintendo

Nintendo and Square represented the video game industry’s first loving couple, and this Sonny and Cher-caliber relationship delivered dozens of memorable software titles exclusively to Nintendo consoles. Games like Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy III (a.k.a. Final Fantasy VI), and Chrono Trigger are fondly remembered as some of the best software of the decade, and if you wanted the next great Square RPG, you had to have a Nintendo platform in order to experience it.

In 1996 all that changed and for reasons still debated to this day, Square broke ties with their longtime business partner and began publishing games on Sony’s PlayStation. This move put Final Fantasy VII — the biggest RPG of the decade — on a non-Nintendo system, and this falling out between the two companies wouldn’t be repaired until 2003.

( saw a new copy of Chrono Trigger on Amazon for $4,000 )

Death of the Arcade

Arcades served as home to some of the best competitive video game experiences in the early part of the ’90s, and arcade culture grew as thousands of players across America duked it out in Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat. Anyone who lived in the ’90s remembers the serenade of dissimilar electronic sounds mashing together the moment you stepped in the arcade and act of quartering up — where a player would place a quarter against a bottom portion of the screen — and wait in line to be the next challenger.

Sadly, arcades fell out of popularity thanks to the increased power of home consoles. This leap in technology brought ports of the most popular arcade games to your living room and slowly contributed to the eventual decline and death of arcades later in the decade.

http://www.1up.com/features/worst-90s_2

Yamaha RX-V573 and RX-V473 receivers include AirPlay integration, 4K passthrough

We don’t spend a whole lot of time focusing on home theater receivers ’round these parts, but we do like AirPlay, and we’re especially fond of audio devices that boast compatibility with the iOS wireless streaming tool out of the box. Yamaha’s RX-V573 and RX-V473 are two of the latest mid-range audio mixers to ship with AirPlay integration — a feature lacking from the company’s past offerings — along with compatibility with the AV Controller app, available for iOS, Android and the Kindle Fire. There’s also a nifty 4K video pass-through feature, which won’t do you much good at present, but may go a long way to future-proofing both devices. There’s not much differentiating the models, save for a $100 gap in price ($450 for the V473, $550 for the V573), and 7.1 channel audio in the pricier model (you’ll find 5.1 channels in the bargain offering). Both flavors include front-panel USB ports (also with iOS compatibility), four HDMI inputs and digital audio inputs, and 115 watts per channel. You can pick up either model now, and there’s a more detailed list of specifications awaiting your gander in the PR after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/03/yamaha-rx-v573-rx-v473-airplay-4k/

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Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

Question: What was the best and worst re-imagining?

@PorscheMonkey: best remake The Thing’ (1982), worst remake Psycho (1998)

Aaron: Worst: New Knight Rider. Best: Star Trek and BSG.

Gozer: Worst: Nightmare on Elm Street
Best: Star Trek

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Super Mario on Audiobook.

Gozer: Puzzle Quest 2 on IOS & XBLA.

http://www.facebook.com/mainstcomics

http://www.digitpress.com/store/

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The Geek’s Choice: This segment will return on a future episode of The Geekcast.

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Featured Segment: Apple TV, Airport Extreme & Express

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question:

physical or digital media? Why?

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #305 – This Ain’t Your Childhood Ninja Turtles

geekcast — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:00:41 +0000

News:

Google’s Dropbox Killer coming in April

Google has been thinking about launching an online storage service for more than five years now, but this time it might finally happen.

Om Malik reports that the fabled Google Drive or GDrive will come out in the first week of April.

It’s a direct competitor to Dropbox, as well as Microsoft’s SkyDrive service — which has been around for several years now — but it doesn’t seem like Google is taking the competition very seriously.

According to the report, GDrive will offer only 1GB of free storage, compared with 2GB for Dropbox and 25GB (yes really) for SkyDrive.

There will apparently be a domain-specific version for Google Apps customers, and the service will have an API for third-party apps, allowing them to store files in the service.

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that the service would let users store documents, pictures, and other files, and would serve as a way to send big attachments through Gmail without actually sending the entire file — users will instead click on a link in the email and be taken to the file on GDrive (which is almost identical to how SkyDrive works with Microsoft’s Hotmail service.)

http://www.businessinsider.com/googles-dropbox-killer-is-coming-in-april-2012-3#ixzz1qLC5Z5ZF

TMNT Reboot

Before continuing on, we ought to clarify: Michael Bay is only producing the live-actionTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series reboot through his Platinum Dunes, not directing. Helming duties (for better or for worse) on the project look to instead be given to Jonathan Liebesman, who previously worked on the Bay-produced Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and last year’s alien invasion thriller Battle: Los Angeles.

Bay talked about the TMNT reboot at the 2012 Nickelodeon Upfront in New York – promising a cinematic return-to-form for the sewer-dwelling masked vigilantes, while also casually dropping a bombshell (turtleshell?) about how the characters’ traditional origin story will be altered for the new movie.

On the topic of how convincing the famous anthropomorphic reptilian stars of TMNT will be, Bay said:

“When you see this movie, kids will believe one day that these turtles do exist, when we’re done with this movie.”

With Bay backing the project and Liebesman – who looks to better establish himself as an effects-savvy director with this month’s Wrath of the Titans – mostly likely directing, theTMNT reboot should easily fulfill on that promise. A hybrid approach that combines animatronics with motion-capture digital effects (similar to that in Real Steel) in order to bring Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael to life, seems like the best way to go.

However, Bay’s next comment on the subject is bound to not go over so well (the first part, that is):

“These turtles [in the reboot] are from an alien race, and they’re going to be tough, edgy, funny, and completely lovable.”

Now, before anyone metaphorically (or semi-literally) explodes over Bay’s statement, don’t forget: going back to their comic book roots, the traditional backstory for the Turtles is that they were regular… well, turtles, who changed after being exposed to a radioactive substance. It’s a pretty ridiculous setup for even a comics series that started out as a satirical imitation of Frank Miller’s brutally grim and violent Ronin/Elektra comics – but eventually gave rise to a beloved property that stands on its own.

So, here’s the million dollar question: does having the Turtles simply be aliens (even “Mutant” ones) sound like a good idea, an inconsequential change – or a terrible decision?

It’s easy to point the finger of blame at Bay for bringing up this “Turtles as aliens” angle to begin with, if only because he also signed off on adding extraterrestrials into the mix with the Battleship movie. However, now that the decision has been made, it’s really up to theTMNT reboot screenwriting duo of Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Procotol) to actually make that tweaked origin story work.

As for why the Turtles are now going to be aliens: perhaps it’s to allow for other sci-fi elements and characters to be more organically woven into the rebooted TMNT mythology. Not that non-earthlings like the classic villain Krang (who even hailed from another dimension) have really struggled to fit into the series before now, but still…

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is tentatively set for a December 25th, 2013

http://screenrant.com/michael-bay-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-origin-sandy-159820/

Digiboo kiosk video service launches, opts for USB drives instead of DVDs

Judging by its quirky name, you’d think Digiboo is anything but an à la carte video service hoping to fight it out with the famed Redbox, or even Qwikster Netflix. The outfit’s kiosks allow you to grab a two-day rental from a 700-plus film menu for $3.99, while $14.99 makes any title yours to own. Here’s the interesting part — rather than getting a DVD for your cash, though, you’ll insert a flash drive to download your movie in as little as “30 seconds.” Digiboo’s setting up shop at airports in Portland, Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul to start, but mum’s the word on its plans for expansion. Taking a trip over to P-Town anytime soon? Be sure to let us know your results if you happen to try it out.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/19/digiboo-kiosk-video-service-launches/

Xbox Live said to get HBO Go, Comcast

It’s looking like “Game of Thrones” fans will have a couple extra days to get ready to watch the premiere of season two on Microsoft’s XBox Live. Rumor has it that both HBO Go and Comcast’s video-on-demand service will be available on Xbox Live tomorrow, according to tech news site GigaOM.

Ever since Microsoft announced last fall that its gaming console would add HBO Go and Comcast in with its new content partners and live TV programming, users have awaited the official launch. Several other apps shortly became available, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, and ESPN.

Months passed by and then finally HBO Co-President Eric Kessler said in February that his company planned to make HBO Go available on the Xbox 360 on April 1 to coincide with the premiere of this season’s “Game of Thrones.” However, according to GigaOM, tomorrow’s launch makes a lot more sense.

“For one thing, Microsoft always releases Xbox updates (and really, any software update) on Tuesday,” GigaOM reporter Ryan Lawler wrote in an article today. “For another, it seemed extremely unlikely that HBO would want to have users try to download the app on the same day as the premiere, which could potentially create a bad user experience if things didn’t go as planned.”

The launch of Comcast’s video-on-demand also seems to make sense. The cable TV provider announced at the end of February its new subscription service, Xfinity Streampix, via the Web. And now, having video available directly from the Xbox game console lets Comcast make its content available across several platforms. According to GigaOM, the company also recently announced its plans to expand to the iPad and connected TVs from Samsung.

Microsoft did not immediately reply to request for comment.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57404949-93/xbox-live-said-to-get-hbo-go-comcast/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver

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Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

Question: What’s the geekiest thing that you have owned or own that people make fun of you for?

Aaron: The iPhone when it first came out (due to price).

Gozer: Video Games & Toys

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Draw Something, all the tech for my new house: New Airport Extreme, *FOUR* Nest Learning Thermostats, Sprint Airave FemToCell

Gozer: Gozer’s Surprise Geek Out, Resident Evil ORC, Game of Thrones & HBO Go
(Treme, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Boardwalk Empire, Big Love & The Wire)

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The Geek’s Choice: Collection Scanning Apps for iPhone

Hooked In Motion Apps

http://www.hookedinmotion.com/

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Featured Segment: The iPhone 4S: Six Months Later.

What we still like:

-Siri (never thought I’d still use it as much)
-Retina Display

What we don’t like:

-Needs to get turn-by-turn directions
-Notification Center still a little quirky

What surprised us:

-Crappyness of Sprint’s network
-Lower quality of front-facing camera

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question:

What is the worst & best reboot or reimagining of a movie?

Hi. I’ve been catching up on past episodes and I was listening to you guys geek out over the new “Back to the Future” hoverboard by Matel. I guess it’s kind of cool that it will slide around a little on the floor, but wouldn’t it have been better to have made it a gaming device for the Wii or the XBOX 360 Kinect? Then you could ACTUALLY ride it (ok, virtually. still.) In the game you could ride around the city as it looked in the movie, maybe playing some sort of race/escape game to get away from Biff, or maybe a Sonic/Mario type game where you go around collecting items in a certain amount of time. Seems like that would have been more fun for avid fans like yourself. Of course, maybe they have already made such a game and I just don’t know about it. Thoughts?

Wes in Grand Rapids

So, I work in electronics at Walmart. Naturally I’ve heard about the DVD ripping situation. I’m the only person in the store who knows anything about technology, half of our associates are old as dirt, the other half don’t know the difference between an ipad and an ipod. Scale this up to however many stores Walmart has and combine it with customers who think that a computer runs on magic and unicorn dust. This is going to be bad.

-Jobe via G+

Hey guys,

Firstly, thanks for recommending my show as something you listen to, Aaron! I always like to know who is listening and why. We’ll get you chugging those electrons just as soon as!

I try (when I’m not away at an auto show or doing a test drive event) to listen to quite a few different podcasts in the gym. At the moment, The Rachel Maddow show is keeping me up to date with US politics, while I like to listen to SuperMarket Matters ( a really funny British comedy) when new episodes are available. Then there’s Dead bug jumping, although that’s on hiatus.

I also listen to The geekcast (duh), as well as some of the TWiT network shows. Although, to be honest, some of the TWiT stuff hasn’t been all that great lately, so I find I don’t listen to that very much any more.

In fact, maybe you all could recommend some alternatives to MacBreak Weekly etc?

Secondly, on the subject of physical vs digital media, my wife Kate and I went digital about four years ago.

We ripped all of our DVDs and CDs to disk, and now have them shared across the house, keeping the originals safe and out of the reach of our kids. Where possible, we do the same for software install disks.

To be honest, although we have a TiVo and decent cable package, we don’t watch any live TV , and often use the Internet to download shows etc.

If the choice is between digital and real, we always go digital.

The only exception is small bands, that need cd sales to help them deal with greedy audio providers like spotify.

Interestingly, the UK Netflix, as we say here, is pretty pants. We’ve got a UK account, but found out that if we connected to TunnelBear (give it a go, it’s awesome) we could access the US Netflix with our UK account.

Then we get all the US awesomeness. we use the same trick to get to Hulu, and shows like The Big Bang Theory on the CBS website.

Of course, doing the digital thing has its down side. We have about 20 TB of storage in the house. Admittedly, about half of that is for my own video and audio work associated with my job and the podcasts, but the rest is for audio and video files and time machine backup.

Which neatly brings us to the third point. Apple hardware.

We have you both beat.

An Apple II
PowerBook 5300CS, which I connect to Twitter just for fun.
PowerBook G3 (Pismo)
G4 Mac Mini (used as my studio chat room server)
MacPro 1.1
Mac Pro 2.1
Second gen 17 inch MacBook Pro Unibody ( My wife’s Laptop and coding machine)
Second gen MacBook Air
Airport extreme
Apple TV gen 1
iPod shuffle 1st gen
2x iPod shuffle 2nd gen (each kid has one)
IPod nano gen 1(being exchanged on the battery fire recall)
2x iPhone 4s
IPad gen 1 (inherited from my wife)
IPad (…because she just got the new hotness!)

We’ve got some other stuff, but i’ve only included stuff that is working. At some point, I’ve owned or worked on most major Mac models, with the exception of the TAM, some of the allinones, and the Portable. I had a PowerBook 100 which I picked up cheap at university, then sold it for parts before i realised what it was. Dumb!

Anyway. Love the show as always!

Nikki

Sent from my iPad

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The Geekcast #304 – Ripping DVDs is Illegal Unless You’re Walmart

geekcast — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:52:16 +0000

News:

The new iPad: everything you need to know

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/7/2852312/new-ipad-third-generation-specs-features

Walmart to offer in-store ‘disc-to-digital’ conversions, powered by Vudu and UltraViolet: $2 for SD, $5 for HD

The rumors are true: Walmart has just announced that it is launching an in-store “disc-to-digital” service powered by its existing Vudu on-demand solution, powered by UltraViolet. Walmart has partnered with five studios: Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Brothers. Adding a standard definition copy of a DVD or HD copy of a Blu-ray will cost two dollars, while upgrading DVDs to HD will cost five dollars. Walmart is also claiming that any movies that customers have acquired through other UltraViolet sources (like the UltraViolet digital copies that come with some Blu-ray purchases) will be playable through Vudu, as well. We’ve heard promises like this before, but UltraViolet integration has been rather fragmented up to this point, so we’ll see how it works in practice. This program will roll out in Walmart stores on April 16th. Walmart stressed that users would keep their discs, but it isn’t clear yet what Walmart will do to keep multiple users from buying digital copies from the same DVD or Blu-ray.
Executives from the five movie studios joined Walmart executive VP John Aden on stage for this event, and the consistent message is that this will be a “seamless” way for customers to move their physical movies to the digital realm and that this will be a coming out party for UltraViolet to help it gain mass awareness and adoption amongst consumers (something that’s definitely been a problem thus far). There’s also a massive marketing campaign planned that is “on the scale of a blockbuster film launch,” so we’ll definitely be hearing about this program over the course of the year.
The major strength of this program sounds like the use of Vudu — this service is already available on the PS3, Xbox 360, and a variety of Blu-ray players and Smart TVs, so users will be able to easily bring their new digital copies to the living room. If users are truly able to play UltraViolet movies from other solutions like Flixster and Paramount side-by-side with Vudu, UltraViolet might finally gain some traction amongst consumers.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/13/2867843/walmart-ultraviolet-disc-to-digital-official

iTunes Digital Copies of movies can now be served up by iCloud

A digital version of a movie now available to stream from iCloud on an Apple TV

Digital copies of certain movies can now by synced to and downloaded from iCloud, Tech of the Hub noted Friday. Customers who have iTunes Digital Copies of movies loaded on their iTunes will find that those movies are now also available from iCloud on their other devices for streaming.

iTunes Digital Copies have been sold inside DVD and Blu-ray movies for some time—the author of the original post used his 2009 copy of Star Trek as an example. The copies were originally meant for customers to add the movie to iTunes to play on their computers or synced to other devices.

With the recent upgrades to iTunes, the program checks those digital copies against movies available in the iTunes Store. If the movie is indeed available through iTunes, iCloud makes the movie available for streaming on any devices linked to the owner’s iTunes account, just as it has been doing with music using iTunes in the Cloud. By extension, this means your digital-copy movies can be streamed on an updated Apple TV without needing a host computer to feed the stream. If you’re looking to stream a digital copy you own from your own iCloud, check out the Purchased tab in the iTunes app and hit the button with the cloud icon.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/03/your-digital-movies-can-now-be-served-up-by-icloud.ars

Bethesda’s Todd Howard on Skyrim’s biggest development hurdle, fan-made mods, and what happens next

Todd Howard and his clan of designers from Bethesda Game Studios walked off the stage with top honors for ‘Game of the Year’ at the 2012 Game Developers Coice Awards last week, for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. As the large group shuffled off to party, Howard, the company’s boss, took a few moments to speak with the media.

Topics of discussion quickly merged into one frame of thought: what happens next? Everyone wants to know when the first piece of downloadable content will launch, how will it change the award-winning experience, and more.

Howard, being as used to sidestepping media inquires about unannounced items as he is working with a talented team, quickly shot those questions down.

“For us it’s probably the amount of processing power we keep to rendering on the screen. So, we have a game that we can put all this stuff on a screen, but we have a ton of processing we’re doing that isn’t on the screen,” Howard explained.

According to Howard, the balancing act between processing situations around players as well as far off in the distance is the biggest technical hurdle the team at Bethesda faces.

It’s easy to make a video of [new Skyrim] content, Howard said, but taking those ideas and forming them to completion so they fit into the game is a different story.

At DICE 2012, Howard revealed an internal video featuring content Bethesda employees created for Skyrim as part of a ‘Game Jam.’ The direction for the week-long event was simple: make anything you want, but make it in Skyrim. Some of the added content included a lycanthropy skill tree, rideable dragons, and more.

As for the Creation Kit content, Howard hasn’t personally used any of the mods but notes some of the team have added fan-made content and/or enhancements to their games. He didn’t want to call out any mods specifically for fear of leaving people out, but Howard did say that the community is “very, very good” about picking their favorite mods “and they’re usually right.”

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/03/12/bethesdas-todd-howard-on-skyrims-biggest-development-hurdle-f/#continued

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Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

Question: What is your favorite podcast? ( besides the Geekcast )

From Mehgan:

To your question: “What other podcasts do you listen to?” I also listen to Slice of Scifi, a lot from Podiobooks.com (especially Nathan Lowell, Scott Sigler, J.C. Hutchings, and Mur Lafferty), This American Life, TedTalks, Freakonomics Radio, I Should Be Writing, Escape Pod, Geologic Podcast, and GeekBeat.TV…I think that’s it.

Gozer: 1) Talkradar 2) Giant Bombcast 3) Weekend Confirmed

Lasertime

http://www.lasertimepodcast.com/2012/03/06/laser-time-saturday-morning-cereal/

Aaron: 1. I Should be Writing. 2. Transport Evolved. 3. Blue Line: Hockey Talk Radio

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Draw Something for iOS. Addictive!!!!! Won a Foursquare contest from McDonalds for the Shamrock Shake. Nest thermometer!

Gozer: Mrs Gozer got an iPhone 4s! Game of Thrones on Blu Ray! Blu Ray Purchases: Rounders & Good Will Hunting for $15 and Godfather Trilogy for $25

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The Geek’s Choice: Seagate Thunderbolt Adapter

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Featured Segment: Double Feature !!

Mass Effect 3 Review & Update all your music to 256k using iTunes Match

Mass Effect 3

Using a smart playlist and iTunes Match, you can quickly get all 256k tracks and upgrade your library. This works great but be sure to listen to what you’ve re-downloaded as Apple may use a different version of the song.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/11/15/quickly-upgrade-all-itunes-matched-songs-to-256kbps/

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question:

What’s the geekiest thing that you have owned or own that people make fun of you for?

Hey guys,

I just started listening to you guys and I love it. To your question: “What other podcasts do you listen to?” I also listen to Slice of Scifi, a lot from Podiobooks.com (especially Nathan Lowell, Scott Sigler, J.C. Hutchings, and Mur Lafferty), This American Life, TedTalks, Freakonomics Radio, I Should Be Writing, Escape Pod, Geologic Podcast, and GeekBeat.TV…I think that’s it.

Keep up the awesomeness,

Mehgan

P.S. I missed turning in last weeks question so I thought I’d mention mine here. I once worked for a guy who knew how to use a mouse and roughly where all of the buttons were on the keyboard, but when he decided it was a good idea to buy a playstation 3 he had to call me in to help install it. I got to his house and he showed me his TV. He got pretty far all by himself, but got stuck when the TV said to “Press X”. This is where it gets embarassing for me. I looked at the TVs remote control for what felt like an hour but was probably around a minute looking for the “X”. Finally, it dawned on me that it wasn’t the TV asking for us to “press X”…it was the PlayStation. My boss said that he had been looking for the “X” for two days.

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #303 – Not iPad Coverage

geekcast — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:02:06 +0000

News:

WSJ: Walmart to offer in-store disc to digital UltraViolet service

Hollywood’s latest digital ecosystem offers lots of promise, but in the five months since its release, it couldn’t be further from delivering on it. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Walmart will finally make use of its membership to the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem by offering in-store disc to digital UltraViolet upgrade opportunities, for a small price of course. No doubt UltraViolet can use all the help it can get, but this is far from what we were hoping for when we learned Walmart would be in the mix — we were hoping for the ability to buy and watch UltraViolet movies via Walmart’s Vudu. Beyond our personal wishes, this no where near the big revelation that most consumers would actually find interesting: the release of the Common File Format which promises universal offline playback of our movie collection.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/04/wsj-walmart-to-offer-in-store-disc-to-digital-ultraviolet-servi/

[1.1] What is UltraViolet?

UltraViolet (UVVU or UV for short) is an ecosystem for interoperable electronic content. It’s a branded set of specifications and agreements along with a centralized rights clearinghouse that allows retailers to sell movies that play on UltraViolet-compatible players and services.

Put another way, UltraViolet is DVD for the Internet. Just as the DVD logo means that you can buy a DVD from any seller and expect it to play in any player with a DVD logo (DVD players, DVD PCs, DVD entertainment systems in automobiles, and so on), the UltraViolet logo means you can buy UltraViolet movies from any seller, view the list of your purchased movies in your UltraViolet digital library, and expect them to play on anything with the UltraViolet logo (players, PCs, mobile phones, cable set-top boxes, and so on).

Here’s how UltraViolet works:

Sign up – create a free UltraViolet account. You can add up to 5 additional account members.
Shop – acquire UltraViolet movies and TV shows from participating retailers. There are many ways this can happen: buy a digital movie, redeem the “UltraViolet version” or “UltraViolet digital copy” that comes with a BD or DVD, get something free as part of a promotion, and so on. (You often need to first sign up for an account at each participating service.)
Add – a “digital proof of purchase” is stored in your UltraViolet digital library, which you can access from participating players and services.
Play (download) – obtain one or more UltraViolet players* (which includes apps on PCs, smartphones, and tablets). A one-time registration step connects your player with your UltraViolet account, which allows it to play anything in your UltraViolet library. You can download UltraViolet files to your UltraViolet players.* Once you’ve downloaded a file you can keep it and play it forever. You can copy files from player to player.
Play (stream) – stream from your UltraViolet library using participating streaming services.

* UltraViolet is launching in phases. Streaming became available in fall 2011. Download players will become available in 2012.

Hello, Google Play: Google launches sweeping revamp of app, book, music, and video stores

Google is taking a big new step in bringing all of its content arms under one roof — and that new entity is called Google Play. Starting today, Google will begin a rebranding of the Android Market, Google Music, Google Books, and its video offerings. Until now, all of those content hubs had more or less resided under the banner of the Android Market, and it seems like the company is interested in making users understand those disparate pockets of content as a unified whole. A company spokesman called Play “an evolution of Android Market.”

Google Play (called the Google Play Store in some instances) will become the single destination for all of the company’s buyable content. Accordingly, the standard Android books, music, and video apps will become Google Play Books, Google Play Music, and Google Play Movies. But it’s not just about devices. Google Play is meant to bring together the company’s content offerings in both mobile and browser experiences.

Android devices running version 2.2 or later will have their Market app automatically updated “over the coming days,” while the Google Play Store moniker will make its way into the Google sandbar, much like the Google+ service. The Android Market name will be retired, though you won’t miss it much since the Google Play Store looks nearly identical.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/6/2848223/google-play-store-rebranded-android-market

Samsung’s AllShare Play pushes pictures from phone to cloud and TV

Here at Samsung’s product showcase in New York, multimedia connectivity played a big role. The company talked up its rebranded AllShare Play technology, not to be confused with Google Play, which was previously called AllShare.

Essentially AllShare Play allows owners of Samsung tablets and smartphones, Samsung Galaxy Tabs and Galaxy Nexus devices for instance, to push media files such as pictures to servers in the cloud. Samsung says it will save up to 5GB of data for users of the free AllShare Play service.

Samsung also partnered with remote file storage software maker SugarSync. As a result, AllShare Play can also upload files directly from Samsung mobile devices to SugarSync’s servers if you have access to a SugarSync account. To be clear, current Samsung 2012 HDTVs already have the SugarSync app installed and users can get much of the same functionality just by downloading the SugarSync app from the Android Market.

This is the first time, however, Samsung has demoed this version of the AllShare Play app, which is still in development but expected to become available “soon.” Another compelling capability is SmartView, which lets you mirror what’s being displayed, and heard, on compatible Samsung TVs to enjoy on tablets and smartphones around the house. All devices need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network for this to happen, though, so a Slingbox competitor it is not.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57391735-94/samsungs-allshare-play-pushes-pictures-from-phone-to-cloud-and-tv/#ixzz1oNB5v2uj

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Question:

What is your funniest tech and old people story!!

From Doug: Back in the early 2000′s my grandparents called me because their computer wasn’t working. I came over and checked it out and saw nothing wrong. They said it wouldn’t take their answers when they were playing “Who want to be a Millionaire”. So I loaded it up and it worked fine. Then my step grandma tried to play and after a few minutes came into the living room to get me telling me it still didn’t work. So I went into the office where she started tapping the screen yelling see it wont take my answers.

Gozer’s Dad: Watch Vulu. Hulu + Vudu = Vulu , MegaGigabyte, upgrade to Leopard “Oh i used to have a Tiger“

Aaron: My mother asks me once every 3-months how to burn a CD on her Mac.

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Book launch! Updated a ton of music using iTunes Match. Details next episode. Began listening to ‘The Rookie’ from Scott Sigler. It’s the first in the GFL series and quite good!

Gozer: 140 Hours into Skyrim. Mass Effect 3. Bought a Seagate Thunderbolt adapter $100 without wire ( wire $49)

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The Geek’s Choice:

Mobile World Congress 2012: best of show

Best Smartphone: HTC One X
HTC’s One line of handsets were impressive from the One Vto the micro arc oxidized One S and while they impressed theOne X stole the show. While it almost took fisticuffs to pick the winner, the One X came out on top because of its stellar camera, beautiful 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD 2 non-PenTiledisplay, quad-core Tegra 3 processor and the unibody polycarbonate housing. The One X is running Sense 4.0 with ICS and despite that it absolutely flies. Surprisingly the usual sluggishness of Sense is all but gone, though we know HTC has lightened and fine-tuned its overlay, the Tegra 3 CPU no doubt does loads to help give it that silky smooth UI feel. The Beats Audio profiles, rendered via both hardware and software were a lot of fun and do add a great twist to one of a handset’s most popular functions. The camera is also very impressive both in image quality and features, though a dedicated camera button certainly would make it even better.

Best Tablet: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
We knew that Samsung planned to launch the Galaxy Note10.1 at Mobile World Congress, but we didn’t know just how huge its presence and push would be at the booth. It is safe to say that between sketch artists, and Adobe’s Touch apps the super Note was Samsung’s flagship launch at MWC 2012 easily taking up 40% of the booth and a lion’s share of the attention. While not drastically different then the Note we reviewed, the increased screen real estate, perfect scrolling and build quality makes this our choice. Samsung also pushed out two new Galaxy Tab 2 devices — in both 7.0 and 10.1 sizes –, but this second S-Pen toting iteration of the Touch line still won out.

Best Device Design: Panasonic Eluga
Thin? Check. Lightweight? Check. Completely waterproof? Check. A thing of beauty to gaze upon? Absolutely. Panasonic’s oddly named Eluga set was a stand out for the simple reason that we all agreed it was without question simply the nicest looking set of the show. Its 4.3-inchAMOLED qHD 960 x 540 display is crisp and bright, svelte 7.8mm thinness, and curved edges made it really comfortable to hold. Heck, even if it should slip from your grasp and fall in the fish tank it is waterproof and therefore as happy submerged as not. Sure, it didn’t pack ICS or the biggest display but Panasonic’s Eluga somehow finds a perfect balance of style and features.

Best Connectivity Device: Option XYFI
Option reappeared at MWC 2012 with the XYFI, the ‘world’s smallest’ personal hotspot and first device we’ve seen from them in some time. What makes it so diminutive is that it can live with or without its massive 4000mAh battery, plug into your car or home via clever – and frankly very beautiful – adapters to deliver all your 3G or WiFi connectivity. The version we had a chance to play with only featured HSPA+ speeds up to 14Mbps, but LTE and quicker versions are in the works. Other notables? Clicking the button on the top of the device pops the USB port open in pure West Side Story switchblade-style, what more could you want?

Best Innovation: Nokia PureView 808
The Nokia PureView 808 actually packs a couple feature worth mentioning: its monster 41 megapixel camera and the Rich Recording audio feature. The camera steals the show with touch-free continuous autofocus at 1080p, 4x zoom with the swipe of a finger, and the magical interpolation it does to render 4 or 5 pixels into one to reduce file sizes. Snapping a picture of a piece of fabric at full resolution yields zoomed images where you can quite literally count the individual fibers. Videos recorded in extremely low light are clean with little to no noise. Nokia’s Rich Recording finally fixes the other half of video quality we’ve never really poked fun at: clipping and distortion. The system can record levels up to 145dB – a jet and hearing damage is in the 140dB level at 100 feet – with no loss of quality. To say it is an astounding effect is a wild understatement. A sample from a Rammstein concert we saw on one of the 808s we saw is almost surreal, it is literally as clear as if you were there. We’re really excited to get our hands on this Belle OS device for an in depth look.

Best of the rest: Intel’s Medfield and Asus Padphone
It’s always nice to see a new entrant in the chipset world which ultimately yields us new devices, and in this case we saw two showing off Intel’s Medfield-based Android offerings: Orange’s Santa Clara and the Xolo X900. The demo focused on device speed, how well it rendered HTML, scrolling speed and the like and both sets delivered. The Xolo X900 – perhaps best name in show – is bound for India and the Santa Clara will debut in France and the UK on Orange. Asus’ PadPhonewas unique at the show in that it morphs from a 4.3-inch slab into a 10-inch tablet, quite like the Atrix did. Earth shattering? No, but the PadPhone is more that the sum of the parts: including its display, metallic accents, and range of accessories definitely helped it stand out.

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Featured Segment: iPad 3 Preview

Apple TV update, iPad 3 for Verizon and AT&T LTE launching tomorrow, no quad-core SoC

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/6/2849384/sources-apple-tv-update-ipad-3-ipad-hd-lte-verizon-att

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Darkness 2 Contest Commercial

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Feedback & Items of Note:

This Week’s Question:

What is your favorite podcast? ( besides the Geekcast )

Feedback:

From @jamesnelis:

@TheGeekcast Content is king, Sky (sky.com) have a 3D channel in the UK and the BBC dabbles now and then. Thanks for the mention

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #302 – Get Your Hoverboards!

geekcast — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 03:54:00 +0000

News:

Intel Ivy Bridge launch delayed until June

The launch of Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors has been pushed back until June, according to the Financial Times. Intel China chairman Sean Maloney told the FT that the processors were originally due in April, but have been delayed due to the new manufacturing process the chips use.

The Ivy Bridge processors are the first to use Intel’s new 22nm process with 3D transistors. The new process allows for substantially reduced power consumption or increased clockspeeds, with Intel describing the performance gains in low-power chips as “unprecedented.”

Maloney’s statements corroborate previous rumors that volume shipment of Ivy Bridge was delayed until June. These rumored delays were attributed to the company having large stockpiles of unsold Sandy Bridge inventory.

The delays are sure to come as a blow to all those wanting to buy—or sell—an Ultrabook laptop. On top of its lower power consumption, Ivy Bridge will also sport a considerably faster integrated GPU, with benchmarks of leaked parts showing the new GPU to be about 60-70 percent faster than the current Sandy Bridge version.

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/02/intel-ivy-bridge-launch-delayed-until-june.ars

The Witcher 2 gets an Enhanced Edition and a confrontational new trailer

CD Projekt unveiled the Xbox 360′s Enhanced Edition of The Witcher 2 last month with a standout trailer and barrage of new features. That first clip took the unusual but engaging tactic of focusing on the game’s antagonist, Letho. But now that you’ve got your head around all the console adaptation’s enhancements, it’s time to be (re)introduced to The Witcher 2′s hero, Geralt of Rivia, caught in the middle of a gruffness-contest against the chrome-domed villain.

As you’ll have noted if you stayed right to the end, the Xbox 360 edition of The Witcher 2 will come in two sizes: the standard-issue Enhanced Edition and the further-enhanced Dark Edition. The latter includes an art book, making-of DVD and a medallion for you to wear whenever you wish to strike fear into the hearts of neighborhood black magicians.

http://www.gamesradar.com/witcher-2-enhanced-edition-gets-confrontational-new-trailer/

No joke: HBO Go coming to Xbox 360 April 1

Engadget reports that HBO Co-President Eric Kessler has announced that the cable network’s popular HBO Go on-demand streaming service will be available through the Xbox 360 starting April 1. The service has been expected on the system since last December, when Microsoft began rolling out additional Xbox 360 streaming video options from content providers ranging from SyFy and Bravo to YouTube and Crackle.

Xbox 360 HBO Go users will still need a valid cable account with an HBO subscription to access the service, which is also available through Web browsers, Roku boxes, iOS and Android devices, and some Samsung Smart TVs. The service currently offers selected movies, sports and comedy programming as well as complete episode archives for all of HBO’s original series.

Streaming video content is becoming an increasing focus for video game console makers of late, with Nintendo reportedly talking to “top content companies” about getting expanded video offerings on its upcoming Wii U system.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2012/02/no-joke-hbo-go-coming-to-xbox-360-april-1.ars

Verizon CFO says shared data plans coming mid-year

We’ve already from Verizon’s CEO Lowell McAdam that the carrier was planning to offer shared data plans. And leaks have indicated that the carrier is already prepping its backend system for the change. Now CFO Fran Shammo has narrowed down the time frame a bit for us, telling a group of investors that family data plans should debut towards the middle of the year. But, he was quick to clarify this isn’t as simple as setting a launch date. The shift to the new billing system will take time and not everyone will be migrated on day one. Still, Shammo indicated it will be an important part of the ongoing transition to 4G and its future plans for mobile dominance.

Update: We mistakenly identified Fran Shammo as the CTO when, in fact, he is the CFO.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/28/verizon-cto-says-shared-data-plans-coming-mid-year/

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Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

Question:

What was your dumbest tech moment?

Aaron: Falling for Alt-F4 joke back on IRC. Not getting LAN access at college!
Gozer: Aaron repairing my PC 2X & using my optical audio cable improperly.

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: The Machete Order Reorganizes The Star Wars Movies For Enhanced Viewing

http://www.howtogeek.com/107028/the-machete-order-reorganizes-the-star-wars-movies-for-enhanced-viewing/

Gozer: PSVita, Ziggurat, iPhone, iPad & Remembering Blockbuster Video ( for $13 : Whiteout, The Merry Gentleman, The Ruins, The Last Exoricism Blu Ray & 3 discs of Roots DVD )

Aaron & Gozer: Hoverboard Preorder March 1st!! With exclusive 6 inch Hoverboard with preorders!!

http://www.mattycollector.com/store/matty/ContentTheme/pbPage.News#2012BTTFHoverboardSale

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The Geek’s Choice: This will return on another episode.

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Featured Segment: Samsung Galaxy Note

AT&T

Form Factor

Bar, Touch Screen

Size

Product Dimensions: 5.78″ x 3.27″ x 0.38″
Product Weight: 6.28 Ounces

Color

Carbon Blue

Battery

Standby Time: 10.4 Days
Continuous Usage: 10 Hours
Battery Type and Size: 2,500mAh

Network

Data Speed: GSM Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900MHz; UMTS; Tri-band: 850/1900/2100MHz; LTE; Dual Band: Band 4 & Band 17

Platform

Android™ 2.3, Gingerbread

CPU

1.5GHz dual-core

Display

Display Resolution: 1280 x 800 Pixel
Display Size: 5.3”
Display Technology: HD Super AMOLED™

User Interface

User Interface Features: Widgets; TouchWiz; Social Hub; Smart Unlock; Accelerometer

Camera

Rear- facing Camera Resolution: 8.0 Megapixel
Front-facing Camera Resolution: 2.0 Megapixel
Digital Optical Zoom: 4x
Auto Focus; Camcorder; DivX HD® ; HD Recording; HD Playback; TV-Out

Audio

Music Player

Video

Video Player; Video, Streaming

Fun and Entertainment

Downloadable Content; Wallpapers, Animated; Samsung Widget Gallery; Media Hub HD

Business & Office

Microsoft® Office-compatible; SAFE™ Samsung approved for Enterprise

Messaging Options

Email; Corporate Email; Picture Messaging; Text Messaging; Video Messaging; Swype™ ; Predictive Text (T9®/XT9®)

Connectivity

Bluetooth®; Bluetooth® Profiles, HID; Wi-Fi® ; Wi-Fi® Hotspot; HTML Browser; GPS

Memory

Internal Memory: 16GB
External Memory: 32GB

Calling Functions

Speakerphone; Voice Recognition; Voicemail; Speech-to-text; Text-to-speech; Etiquette/Gesture Mode; Music ID; Picture Caller ID; Multitasking; Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC); TTY; Airline Mode

S-Pen, Share media hub ( HDTV smart adapter ), car dock 3.5 mm jack into auxillary, USB host adapter

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SGH-I717ZBAATT-features

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Darkness 2 Contest Commercial

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question:

What is your funniest tech and old people story!!

Feedback:

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #301 – The Darkness 2

geekcast — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 03:09:52 +0000

News:

Next version of OS X to be more iOS-like than ever with Mountain Lion

Apple significantly accelerated the upgrade cycle for Mac OS X on Thursday, announcing just seven months after the release of Lion that the next major version of OS X will be available in summer 2012. Dubbed Mountain Lion (we note no mention of a version number, like 10.8), the new OS will bring even more iOS-like features to the Mac, including Messages, Notes, and Reminders. Registered Mac developers have access to the first developer preview starting today.

Mountain Lion will offer increased integration between iOS and OS X. A new Messages app replaces iChat, which can send messages, video, and images between Macs and iOS devices (yes, iMessage has come to the desktop). According to Apple, Messages will continue to support AIM, Jabber, Yahoo Messenger, and Google Talk. A beta version of Messages is available to all Lion users starting today (thought at the time of publishing the download is currently unavailable).

Notification Center on Mac OS X Mountain Lion is hidden under the Desktop.

Mountain Lion will also include Mac versions of Notes, Reminders, Game Center, Notification Center, Share Sheets, OS-wide Twitter integration, and AirPlay Mirroring. Many of the new apps, such as Notes, Reminders, and Messages, will sync seamlessly with iOS devices and other Macs connected to your iCloud account. Game Center will enable live multiplayer gameplay between Macs, iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches.

A Share Sheet makes it easy to tweet about a webpage in Safari.

Share Sheets will let users share and tweet links, photos, and videos from any app that supports them, including Safari, Quick Look, Preview, and more. Third party developers will be able to add Share Sheet support to their own apps as well. Notification Center will centralize alerts from apps like Mail, Calendar, and Reminders, as well as offering a centralized API for developers to send alerts as well (so long, Growl). Finally, AirPlay Mirroring enables any Mac to send a 720p video stream to an Apple TV (though apparently not to an iOS device).

AirPlay Mirroring sends a 720p stream of your desktop to any Apple TV.

Mountain Lion includes additional improvements, like updated iCloud support. In addition to offering a single sign-in to set up Contacts, Mail, Calendar, Messages, FaceTime, and Find My Mac, improved iCloud Documents APIs will make it easier to keep files stored in iCloud updated across Macs and iOS devices. There’s also improved Chinese language support, including access to common services like Baidu, QQ, Youku, Tudou, Sina weibo, as well as enhancements to Chinese input.

An interesting new feature called Gatekeeper is designed to offer improved security for installed third-party apps. Essentially, Gatekeeper can be configured to install apps from any source, from developers with a special developer ID provided by Apple labeling them as “trusted,” or strictly from the Mac App Store. Users have expressed concern since the introduction of the Mac App Store that Apple would eventually limit all app downloads to those from the Store; while Gatekeeper could be viewed as another step towards that goal, we think it provides some level of granularity in controlling what sources a user can get apps from. Furthermore, it will likely be a welcome feature in enterprise settings, where admins could limit access as required by security policies without completely eliminating the ability for users to install apps themselves.

Gatekeeper will let users set their Mac to install any app, apps from “trusted” sources, or Mac App Store only.

Apple, Inc.

Developers gain access to “hundreds” of new APIs, many of which debuted on iOS 5, such as GLKit for integration OpenGL support. Other APIs include GameKit, 64-bit QuickTime, and enhanced multitouch. Mountain Lion will also include a revamped graphics subsystem and improved address space layout randomization for better security.

As noted, Mac OS X Mountain Lion is expected to be released this summer, and will likely be a $29.99 purchase via the Mac App Store.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2012/02/apple-unleashes-mountain-lion-on-developers-set-for-summer-release.ars

Comcast launching Xfinity Streampix to compete with Netflix

Comcast is launching its own video streaming service this week, the company announced on Tuesday. Dubbed “Xfinity Streampix,” the new service appears to address concerns that customers are increasingly attracted to online services such as Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, and Hulu Plus.

Comcast already offers limited streaming access to current TV shows and other content to cable subscribers via its Xfinity TV service. Xfinity Streampix, on the other hand, will give users access to an expanded library of TV shows and movies. Disney-ABC Television Group, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, and Cookie Jar Entertainment have signed on as launch partners for the service, which goes live on Thursday.

Like Xfinity TV, Streampix will be included in certain cable subscription packages. However, it will also be offered as a $4.99 per month add-on for other customers. Unfortunately, Comcast appears to be offering the service only to existing video services subscribers; if you’re merely paying Comcast for its high speed Internet service, you won’t be able to add Streampix.

Customers will be able to access Streampix content away from home via the Xfinity TV website and iPad app. Comcast said it plans to expand access to consoles like Xbox 360 as well as mobile devices running Android “in the coming year.”

Given the fact that a cable box isn’t needed to access the content, we see little reason why Comcast isn’t offering a version of the service to its Internet-only subscribers. These users still have no other choice but to subscribe to competing services like Netflix, which already have much larger libraries of content to choose from and are already available on more devices.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/02/comcast-launching-xfinity-streampix-to-compete-with-netflix.ars

How Much Would it Cost to build the Death Star?

Building a massive space weapon is all very well, but you have to find the materials to build it with. It’s easy to say that “sure, the Death Star would be expensive” but is there actually enough iron in the Earth to make the first Death Star? Centives decided to find out.

We began by looking at how big the Death Star is. The first one is reported to be 140km in diameter and it sure looks like it’s made of steel. But how much steel? We decided to model the Death Star as having a similar density in steel as a modern warship. After all, they’re both essentially floating weapons platforms so that seems reasonable.Scaling up to the Death Star, this is about 1.08×1015 tonnes of steel. 1 with fifteen zeros.

Which seems like a colossal mass but we’ve calculated that from the iron in the earth, you could make just over 2 billion Death Stars. You see the Earth’s crust may have a limited amount of iron, but the core is mostly our favourite metal and is both very big and very dense, and it’s from here that most of our death-star iron would come.

But, before you go off to start building your apocalyptic weapon, do bear in mind two things. Firstly, the two billion death stars is mostly from the Earth’s core which we would all really rather you didn’t remove. And secondly, at today’s rate of steel production (1.3 billion tonnes annually), it would take 833,315 years to produce enough steel to begin work. So once someone notices what you’re up to, you have to fend them off for 800 millennia before you have a chance to fight back. In context, it takes under an hour to get the steel forHMS Illustrious.

Oh, and the cost of the steel alone? At 2012 prices, about $852,000,000,000,000,000. Or roughly 13,000 times the world’s GDP.*

But then again, you can just take out a loan from the entire planet and then default on them in the most awesome way possible.

(For the record when converting between iron and steel, Centives assumed a medium steel of 99.5% iron)

*Centives erroneously reported this figure as $8,100,000,000,000,000, which was off by a magnitude of 100. We’d like to thank commenter Ianvl for pointing this out. Despite our original error, the cost of the death star still comes out to be 13,000 times the world’s GDP as we originally reported. Sincere apologies for the mistake.

http://www.centives.net/S/2012/how-much-would-it-cost-to-build-the-death-star/

Aaron: Loving Venmo! Done reading “Ghost in the Wires” by Kevin Mitnick. On a huge Sliders kick. Watched the ‘Touch’ sneak preview on FOX. Spartacus! My second book is coming out.

Gozer: Seagate 1.5 terabyte portable extenal hard drive usb 3.0. Comic Book Men. The River. Spartacus: Vengeance.

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The Geek’s Choice: PuzzleJuice for iOS.

New addictive game! Only 99 cents.

“PUZZLEJUICE IS A GAME THAT WILL PUNCH YOUR BRAIN IN THE FACE.”

http://puzzlejuice.asherv.com/

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Featured Segment: Darkness 2 Review

The Darkness 2 Contest Commercial

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question:

What was your dumbest tech moment?

Feedback:

@jamesnelis on Twitter: can’t believe no love for 3D. Had it for 6 months now, use 3d every chance I get. Buy 3d disc if it’s an option now over 2d

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #300 – THIS IS GEEKCAST!!!

geekcast — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:07:07 +0000

News:

SOPA defeated, Megaupload taken down

It was big week on the Internet. Many popular sites spent an entire day protesting SOPA, which resulted in both it and PIPA being put on life support. Good job, Internet! Megaupload was also taken down by the feds, leaving us wondering why we really need a law like SOPA. Read on for the biggest stories of the week.

PIPA support collapses, with 13 new Senators opposed: Wednesday’s unprecedented online protest has Senators racing for the exits on the Protect IP Act. A total of 13 Senators announced their opposition to the legislation, including 11 Republicans and two Democrats.

Why the feds smashed Megaupload: After a two-year investigation that moved from Hong Kong to the US to New Zealand, the US government has arrested Megaupload employees, shuttered the site, and gone after $175,000,000 in cash and prizes. Here’s why.

Maniac Tentacle Mindbenders: How ScummVM’s unpaid coders kept adventure gaming alive: For 10 years, the ScummVM project has made beloved adventure games playable on modern systems and mobile devices, even as it dealt with legal problems and internal dissension. Here’s how it happened.

SOPA lives—and MPAA calls protests an “abuse of power” : The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) will move forward in the House this February, its top backer announced. As for the anti-SOPA protests tomorrow, Hollywood calls them a “stunt” and a “dangerous and troubling development.”

SOPA Resistance Day begins at Ars: Why Ars Technica opposes the Stop Online Piracy Act.

Windows 8′s locked bootloaders: much ado about nothing, or the end of the world as we know it?: Microsoft’s secure boot policy for Windows 8 has some Linux advocates up in arms, as it will be all but impossible to install Linux on any ARM machine designed for Windows 8. Is Microsoft tipping the balance too far towards security and too far away from freedom? And given the abundance of Linux tablets already on the market, does it even matter?

Anonymous takes down DoJ, UMG websites—attack on Whitehouse.gov underway: In a pair of actions, the hacktivist group has taken down the websites of the Justice Department and Universal Music in response to the Megaupload shutdown, and is targeting the websites of Democratic members of Congress who support SOPA.

Before shutdown, Megaupload ate up more corporate bandwidth than Dropbox: Before being shut down by the feds today over copyright infringement allegations, Megaupload was accounting for more corporate bandwidth usage than Dropbox and numerous other file-sharing services.

Megaupload shut down by feds, seven charged, four arrested: Megaupload’s co-founders and other staff are charged with crimes including conspiracy and money laundering, in an investigation that included law enforcement and government agencies from nine countries.

Hard to compete with Free: €20 for unlimited voice, text, and 3G data: French broadband provider Free.fr wants to shake up mobile service. After all, it’s just bits.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/week-in-tech-sopa-defeated-megaupload-taken-down.ars

Google claims 90 million Google+ users, 60% “active” daily

In today’s earnings call, Google CEO Larry Page said Google Plus now has 90 million users, and that the vast majority are active on Google either daily or weekly.

“There are over 90 million Google+ users, well over double what I announced just a quarter ago,” Page said. “Plus users are very engaged with our products. Over 60 percent of them engaged daily and 80 percent engaged weekly.” (UPDATE: We’ve confirmed what some readers suspected: the 60 and 80 percent figures refer to users accessing any Google service—whether it be search, Gmail or something else—while logged in to their Google account, and do not necessarily indicate actual usage of Google+ each day or week. The 90 million figure refers not to active users, but to the total number of people who have created Google+ accounts.)

The increase in overall numbers, no doubt, is due in large part to Google making Plus links a prominent part ofsearch results, and integrating the social network into Google Apps, Gmail, Picasa, and, well, just about everything Google makes. Google+ is apparently growing fast, but still lagging behind Facebook’s 800 million active users and Twitter’s 100 million active users.

Page also touted growth of Android, Chrome and Gmail while announcing that Google hit more than $10 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time. Revenue for the full fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2011 was up 29 percent and quarterly revenues were up 25 percent year over year. Net income for the quarter was $2.71 billion on overall revenue of $10.58 billion, up 6.7 percent over the previous year’s $2.54 billion. Full-year net income was $9.74 billion on revenue of $37.91 billion. The quarterly numbers fell short of financial analysts’ expectations.

Page boasted that Google is signing up many new enterprise customers for its Google Apps suite, including 110,000 employees at BBVA, Google’s largest business productivity deal that has been publicly disclosed. But advertising, as usual, is still Google’s biggest cash cow, accounting for 96 percent of quarterly revenue, compared to 97 percent in the previous year’s fourth quarter. Google said mobile advertising is a growing part of total revenue, but didn’t specify how much it accounts for.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/01/google-claims-90-million-google-users-60-active-daily.ars

Why Apple’s products are ‘Designed in California’ but ‘Assembled in China’

Look at the back of your iPhone, or your iPad, or on the bottom of your Mac. You’ll see the following words embossed somewhere: “Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China.” Many Americans, all the way up to the President himself, have wondered why Apple has outsourced virtually all of its manufacturing overseas. At a dinner with several top US technology executives last year, President Obama asked Steve Jobs flat out what it would take to bring those jobs back to the US. According to Jobs, there’s simply no way for it to happen.

Why not? Why can’t iPhones, iPads, and all the rest of Apple’s magic gadgets be built in the States? More generally, why can’t more US-based consumer electronics and computer companies do their manufacturing work domestically, helping to create American jobs and boost the struggling economy?

The New York Times asked that question, and after an extremely well-researched report involving interviews with both former and current executives at Apple, the answer the Times found is both simple and chilling: iPhones aren’t made in America because they just can’t be. The infrastructure and labor force doesn’t exist at the levels necessary to support Apple’s operations — it’s not even close.

The Chinese factory where most iPhones reach final assembly employs 230,000 workers. I just asked Siri how many cities in the US have a population higher than that, and the answer was a mere 83 cities — and that’s total population, not workforce. With an average labor force of around 65 percent of the population, only 50 US cities are large enough to provide that kind of labor pool… and even in the biggest US city of them all, New York, 230,000 people still amounts to almost three percent of the city’s entire population. Can you imagine three out of every hundred New Yorkers on an assembly line, cranking out iPhones every day?

Over the past couple of years, we have heard a great deal concerning working conditions at factories owned by Foxconn. The Chinese manufacturing company is responsible for assembling consumer electronics for most of the major vendors out there, including Apple. Around a fourth of those 230,000 people live in company-owned dorms or barracks right on factory property; that’s almost 60,000 people living and working at the factory. Many of the people at “Foxconn City” work six days a week, twelve hours a day, and they earn less than US$17 per day. It may sound inhumane by American standards, but these jobs are in high demand in China — so much so that Jennifer Rigoni, former worldwide supply demand manager for Apple, told the New York Times that Foxconn “could hire 3,000 people overnight.”

Those are just a couple examples of how the scale, speed, and efficiency of Chinese manufacturing outstrips anything the US is currently capable of. But the Times’ report is full of more evidence, and it’s damning. Even though the 200,000 assembly-line workers putting part A into slot B could potentially be classified as unskilled labor, the 8700 industrial engineers overseeing the process can’t be — and according to the Times, finding that many qualified engineers in the States would take nine months. Chinese manufacturers found them all in 15 days.

With the notable exception of the A5 processor, most of the components used to make the iPhone are also manufactured overseas, many of them within a relatively short distance of the final assembly plant. Shipping those components to any potential US-based factories would incur greater costs, and even worse from Apple’s perspective, manufacturing delays.

Traditional defenses of outsourcing of manufacturing jobs have revolved around cost. “It costs more money to build in America,” the reasoning goes; “You have to pay your workers more, you have to pay benefits, insurance, higher taxes. Everything costs more.” Since companies want to make a profit, that added cost inevitably gets passed on to the consumer in inflated prices for goods.

To exaggerate the point, many have claimed that an American-manufactured iPhone would cost thousands of dollars. It turns out that’s hyperbole; according to the New York Times, the increased cost of paying American wages to workers would add $65 to the cost of an iPhone. The other costs, added together, probably wouldn’t drive the unsubsidized price of a 16 GB iPhone 4S over US$1000. But the dollar cost of manufacturing in America isn’t the biggest issue that’s driving Apple’s decision to outsource manufacturing to China. Instead, it’s about who can build the greatest number of iPhones within the shortest period of time, all while remaining flexible and instantaneously adaptable to Apple’s needs. According to one current Apple executive, “The US has stopped producing people with the skills we need.”

The Times provides a telling example from the early days of the iPhone, before it ever hit the market. It’s hard to believe now, but originally the iPhone’s screen was going to be made from the same scratch-prone plastic that graced the fronts of its contemporaneous iPod models. In mid-2007, just over a month before the iPhone was scheduled to hit stores for the first time ever, Jobs realized the folly of using that plastic when the screen of the iPhone prototype he was carrying in his jeans pocket had accumulated dozens of scratches. “I won’t sell a product that gets scratched. I want a glass screen, and I want it perfect in six weeks.”

Anyone who knows how Jobs worked knows that he wasn’t bluffing — if the iPhone didn’t meet his standards, it wouldn’t go on sale, period. Six months of anticipation had driven demand for the first iPhone into a frenzy, so Apple knew it was going to have to crank them out as quickly as possible. But the last-second change to what was arguably one of the iPhone’s most central components meant initiating the kind of mad scramble that simply wouldn’t be possible in US manufacturing. Apple would have been an industry laughingstock for as long as it took to overcome the manufacturing delay. Instead, what might have taken months to transpire in the US took place in six short weeks; Apple sourced a virtually scratchproof glass from Corning, and Chinese factories rapidly managed to integrate it into the existing iPhone design.

As it’s an American company reaping unprecedented financial rewards, many Americans have lamented the fact that the rewards coming back into America are so comparatively meager. Apple employs 43,000 people in the United States, less than a fifth the number of contractor employees assembling iPhones at one Chinese factory. One could argue that Apple’s success has come at the expense of the American manufacturing workforce, but if the New York Times’ report is anything to go by, it seems the workforce Apple would have needed in America never existed to begin with.

http://www.tuaw.com/2012/01/22/why-apples-products-are-designed-in-california-but-assembled/

*************

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

What is the most addictive game you’ve ever played?

Barry: Have been addicted to many games, hard to pic put two off the top of my head would be Settlers 2, Original Unreal Tournament both on PC.

Akash: Hi Guys,

Here are my 2 bit. MMO – Conquer Online (Wasted 2 years of my time) Non MMO – Battlefield 2: Bad Company (Awesome game clocked over 120 hours on multiplayer)

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Time Machine backup drive was acting wonky. Let it cool and it was fine. Spartacus starts next week!

Gozer: uhh…Skyrim? Spartacus sneak preview on demand. TiVo update

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The Geek’s Choice: This will return on a future episode of The Geekcast

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Featured Segment: How to Auto-post from Twitter to Google+

My friend Farida on Twitter alerted me to this innovative way to get your tweets auto-posted to Google+. It all works through Google Voice and SMS forwarding.

A word of note: if you’re already using your GV account, this will require forwarding all SMS to your Gmail and all of those are going to post to Google+. This works best if you have a GV account you’re not using or a secondary account (though I haven’t tested it with a second one).

http://khanov.me/2012/01/14/how-to-autopost-from-twitter-to-google/

**************

Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question:
“What celebrity ( or celebrities ) do you follow on Twitter?”

Feedback:

Hi Guys

Just listened to your back Aaron loved it and cant wait for more (left feedback on
podiobooks). Out of interested did you pick who got the prize of being in your second
book?

Gozer Skyrim is awesome! Put about 110hours into it. Preferences in terms of combat -
one hand magic usually a fire a spell and a sword in the other! No real glitches apart from
the occasional dead dragon falling from the sky!

Just finished playing Dragon Age 2 its like Coke Zero by comparison of Skyrim which is
Full Fat Coke.

Love the show
All the Best

-Barry
Cork, Ireland

PS I checked but maybe I am blind is it possible to download the
audio verson of As Darkness Ends?

From Akash:

Is Gozer reconsidering his PS Vita preorder since it is really not catching up in Japan?

**************

Sponsors:

MozyPro Online Backup: Simple, Automatic & Secure Backup: http://mozy.com/pro

The Geekcast #299 – CES 2012 Coverage

geekcast — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:30:43 +0000

News:

Zappos customer data accessed in security breach

Zappos is urging its customers to change their passwords after an intruder gained unauthorized access to the online shoe retailer’s servers.

Customers’ names, e-mail addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits of their credit card numbers, and their scrambled passwords may have been illegally accessed, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said in a letter sent to the company’s 24 million customers today. However, he said that “critical credit card data and other payment data was not affected or accessed.”

The company has voided and reset customer passwords so that new ones can be created, Hsieh wrote in the letter, which includes a link and instructions for creating a new password. The letter also urges customers to change their passwords at other sites if they are the same or similar to the ones used at Zappos.

“We’ve spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand, and trust with our customers. It’s painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident,” Hsieh wrote in the letter. “I suppose the one saving grace is that the database that stores our customers’ critical credit card and other payment data was not affected or accessed.”

Hsieh said that all employees at the company’s headquarters, regardless of their department, would be enlisted to help assist customers.

Hsieh wrote that the affected servers are located in Kentucky but did not indicate when the breach occurred. He said the company was cooperating with law enforcement officials on an investigation of the breach.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57359536-83/zappos-customer-data-accessed-in-security-breach/?tag=mncol;topStories

Apple postpones iPhone 4S in Shanghai and Beijing after chaotic launch crowds

Apple has delayed sales of the iPhone 4S at some of its stores in China after the launch crowds at Apple’s flagship Sanlitun store in Beijing got more than a little rowdy. Police had reportedly told Apple not to open the store as scheduled due to the massive crowd, which then turned into something of a mob and threw eggs at the storefront. The New York Times put the crowd in context by noting that many of the people in the crowd were actually migrant workers who had been paid to go and wait to purchase the phone, so when the store didn’t open they were not going to be paid. Police dispersed the crowd.

In a statement to AllThingsD, Apple said that it would be pausing sales for awhile in some stores, and reportedly the company sold out of the iPhone 4S very quickly in many stores in the area.

Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/13/2704680/apple-postsones-iphone-4s-sales-in-shanghai-and-beijing-stores-after

Minecraft updated to version 1.1: new languages, improved sheep and bows

Less than two months after getting its official 1.0 release, Minecraft is getting another update this week, to version 1.1. The update adds a few fun features to the game: sheep that now eat grass and will re-grow their wool, enhanced bows, apples that fall from trees (“Newton would be proud,” the video announcing the update sais), and different-colored eggs for spawning pigs and other animals. New languages might be the most important change, though: Minecraft now supports German, French, and Swedish translations. (And Pirate.) That’s a lot of new stuff to turn into 3D printables, or some new things to add to the entire level of Super Mario you built. Or, failing all that, it’s just some fun new stuff to play with in the giant world of Minecraft.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/15/2708116/minecraft-1-1-languages-sheep-bows

Momentum shift: SOPA, PIPA opponents now in driver’s seat

The broad support in the U.S. government for two controversial antipiracy bills appears to be evaporating.

The latest string of setbacks for supporters of the bills came Saturday when Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the Oversight committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, said that he was promised by Majority leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) that a vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) will not occur “unless there is consensus on the bill.”

“While I remain concerned about Senate action on the Protect IP Act [a similar bill to SOPA introduced into the Senate last year], I am confident that flawed legislation will not be taken up by this House,” Issa said in a statement, according to the blog The Hill. “Majority Leader Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build consensus prior to any antipiracy legislation coming before the House for a vote.”

After it was learned that a vote on SOPA might get held up in the House, supporters of stronger antipiracy legislation suffered an even bigger blow when the White House, which has been a strong ally of the entertainment sector on antipiracy issues, went public with concerns about some of the linchpin provisions in SOPA and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).

SOPA and PIPA are backed by a wide range of copyright owners, including the six Hollywood film studios and the four major record companies. The bills would hand the U.S. Justice Department the ability to cut off access in the United States to Web sites based overseas accused of trading in pirated or counterfeit materials. It would also give the government the power to force credit card companies, online advertisers, and Internet service providers to cut off ties with accused pirates.

Opponents, which include a wide number of technology companies as well as free-speech advocates, say SOPA and PIPA would threaten free speech and stifle innovation.

The latest developments signal a shift in momentum. Last year, copyright owners could boast strong bipartisan support in both houses of Congress and a powerful friend in the White House. Now, after SOPA and PIPA opponents mounted a vigorous campaign against the bills, they have seen lawmakers give up on the Domain Name System (DNS) provisions in both pieces of legislation–the provisions that would have given the government the aforementioned power to force ISPs to block access to alleged overseas pirate sites.

Just how many more concessions opponents can obtain is unclear, but they don’t appear to have any intention of letting up now. An important test for both sides will come January 24, when the Senate is scheduled to hold a vote on PIPA.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57359306-261/momentum-shift-sopa-pipa-opponents-now-in-drivers-seat/

Google introduces Android Design guidelines for Ice Cream Sandwich

Matias Duarte just dropped by The Verge trailer at CES 2012 to tell us about Google’s new effort for ensuring consistency in the Android user experience: a style guide. Android OEMs and app developers will be provided with a set of in-depth guidelines on how to build atop of Android. All the instructions will be made available on a new website — Android Design, a subset of the Android Developers site — which will be built out over time with ever more granular and detailed best practice advice.

The initial version of the guide includes information like typography, color palettes, and other stylistic advice, as well as a breakdown of the components making up the Android UI. Matias stresses that what we’re seeing today is a purely optional aid for Android designers, not something that Google will seek to enforce.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/12/2703019/google-ice-cream-sandwich-style-guidelines/in/2454903

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Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

Last Week’s Question: What is the product / product category you’d like to be banned from CES?

Feedback: VoiceMail from Akash

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: I’ve got nothing. LOL!

Gozer: Skyrim & glitches. Downloaded Minecraft for IOS.

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The Geek’s Choice: The Best PDF Viewer for Linux

Linux has quite a few PDF readers available, but Okular stands out as the best of the bunch, due to its ability to comment on, highlight, and otherwise annotate PDFs.

Okular

Platform: Linux
Price: Free
Download: http://okular.kde.org/download.php

View a number of different document formats, including PDFs, EPUB ebooks, CBR and CBZ comic books, DjVu, images, and more

Annotate and mark up PDF files with comments, highlights, shapes, stamps, and more
Extract text from a PDF to a text file
Set bookmarks for later viewing
Trim white page borders

Okular may not be as feature-filled as some of the PDF editors and viewers on Windows, but it’s by far the most feature-filled on Linux. It’s the only app that can annotate PDFs, and it has a ton of other usability options in its preferences so you can tweak the program to fit your workflow (whether that’s speeding up the program by changing its memory usage, changing the view mode, or tweaking the program’s overall appearance). It’s also a pretty snappy program, even on slower machines and with large PDFs, so coupled with its memory tweaking preferences, you should have no problem opening PDFs quickly and getting to the good stuff.
Okular is a KDE program, which means GNOME users will have to download lots of dependencies to run it, which will take up a good amount of space (not to mention it’ll look a bit out of pace with their other programs). Also, while it’s the most feature-filled reader on Linux, it can’t edit PDFs—in fact, most readers can’t. If you want to full-on edit PDFs, you’ll have to use something like LibreOffice or a dedicated editor like PDFedit instead.
Evince is the default PDF viewer in most GNOME-based Linux distributions, so if you don’t want to install all those KDE dependencies, Evince is probably your next choice. It’s lightweight, simple, and easy to use, though it doesn’t have too many advanced features. You can rotate PDFs, add bookmarks, and change the sidebar’s view mode, but other than that, you don’t have much. If all you’re doing is reading the occasional PDF, it’s great, but you won’t find any annotation features here.

Adobe Reader has a Linux version available, and as always, we don’t recommend it as your go-to reader. That said, it’s still the standard, which means if you ever have compatibility issues in something like Okular or Evince, Adobe Reader will probably handle it just fine. You don’t need to install it now, just know that if you ever have problems, it’s worth keeping in mind.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that lots of Windows PDF apps work great under WINE, including PDF X-Change, Foxit, and Sumatra. So, while they won’t look fantastic under Linux, they’re great if you need some more advanced reading and editing tools, since most Linux apps are a bit lacking.

http://lifehacker.com/5875879/the-best-pdf-viewer-for-linux

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Featured Segment: CES Roundup!!

LG OLED 55EM9600 55 inch ( Best in Show CES 2012 Cnet )

smart tv, magic motion remote, doesn’t need a backlight, a proprietary algorithm that improves and refines hues and tones when viewed from a wide angle. According to LG, other OLED TVs “exhibit drastic changes in hues from different viewing angles and abnormal color gamut.”

Ubuntu TV
- Easy integration of broadcast, online services and applications
- Separate playlists for each viewer
- second screen experiences ( info, live twitter streams )

Technical specifications and requirements

Ubuntu TV benefits from the comprehensive hardware support that’s always been a hallmark of Ubuntu for PCs. Highlights include:

Support for ARM and x86 boards1
Local storage support for DVR functionality2
Minimum disk space: 2GB
Minimum memory: 1GB
Minimum video memory: 512 MB
HDMI
CEC support

Digital audio out
Hardware accelerated video capable of displaying content at 1080p3
Network connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet & Wireless b/g/n
USB host support
Bluetooth HCI interface
Modular tuner for broadcast TV (Satellite, Cable, Terrestrial)

Ubuntu One cloud sharing for Ios, Android and Ubuntu

Project Fiona ( People’s Choice CES 2012 Cnet)

Windows 8 Gaming tablet, two controllers one on each side

Project Fiona is still a regular tablet that features a large 10.1in WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) resolution multi-touch display, an Intel Core i7 (model information not yet available), a Microsoft Windows 8 operating system, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound.

http://socialbarrel.com/razer-project-fiona-windows-8-tablet-unveiled-features-dual-game-controllers/30330/

Ultrabooks / Ultra thins

What is an Ultrabook? Intel says they’re supposed to be affordable (around $1,000), thin (no more than 0.8 inches), light (no more than 3.1 pounds) and tenacious in the battery. They’re to have speedy SSD storage.

http://gizmodo.com/5875845/theres-no-such-thing-as-an-ultrabook

Thunderbolt

Lightfoot external drive 1 port, Belkin’s Thunderbolt Express dock, acer & lenevo

Mad Catz

Major League Gaming Controller ( interchangable parts )

Street Fighter X Tekken Arcade Sticks ( $200 and a $20 Connector piece )

Markbot Replicator 3-D printer

Nokia Lumia Windows Phone

Polaroid’s Android Camera

The camera features a 3.2-inch touchscreen and the full Android app market. It’s a 16-megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom, and it includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

**************

Feedback & Items of Note:

Poll the geeks: We’re trying out a new addition to the show where we want to know what you think! We’ll feature your answers on our next episode. Be sure to call, email or tweet your responses to us.

This Week’s Question: What is the most addictive game you’ve ever played?

Hey Guys,

Just a quick one thought Aaron might like this – have you got one of these?

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/collectibles/d0ef/

As always love the show

-Barry
Cork,Ireland

**************

Sponsors:

MozyPro Online Backup: Simple, Automatic & Secure Backup: http://mozy.com/pro

The Geekcast #298 – Turtle Beach XP 500 Headphones Review

geekcast — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:00:30 +0000

News:

Gaming preview 2012: From PlayStation Vita to ‘Halo 4′
The PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo Wii U are both expected to hit the shelves, with the Vita hitting North American and European shores in February after a Japanese launch in mid-December.

More than 320,000 units have been sold in Japan since the Vita’s December 16 release there, putting it on nearly even footing with early sales for Nintendo’s 3-D handheld gaming device, the 3DS. But the Vita’s numbers dropped dramatically in the second week to just over 70,000 and analysts are watching to see whether the device has staying power in the U.S. and Europe.

The verdict on whether consumers want 3-D gaming still appears to be out. Nintendo announced Tuesday that its 3DS has sold 4 million units in the U.S. — a solid but not spectacular number for a hugely hyped product.

New Consoles

Later in 2012, Nintendo will be releasing their next-generation console called Wii U. It is the first Nintendo console to feature souped-up 1080p high-definition graphics and will have a touchscreen embedded in the controller to allow for gaming when the TV is off or interaction between two screens.

There has also been speculation that a PlayStation 4 from Sony or new Xbox console from Microsoft could be released in 2012. In an interview with CNN Geek Out, Xplay host Morgan Webb said many developers are working on new franchises for a new generation of consoles.

Blockbuster games

Halo 4

Mass Effect 3

Diablo 3 (10 years since last)

Twisted Metal ( 17 years since last)

Bioshock Infinite

Final Fantasy XIII – 2

Resident Evil Revelations

Max Payne 3

Borderlands 2

GTA V

Casual and mobile gaming

Smartphones and tablets are continuing their march into the gaming genre with more choices from Atari, Zynga, Electronic Arts and other well-known gaming developers on the way.

As mobile devices become more powerful, social and casual gaming is expected to define a new and growing base of folks as “gamers.” Some research shows that demographic is morphing into nearly an even split between males and females, as well as getting older and more affluent.

While 2011 was a big year in gaming, 2012 is projected to be even bigger.

Communications market researcher TMNG expects the global gaming business to reach $40 billion in revenues by the end of 2012, with high growth in the mobile game sector.

There are likely to be twists and unexpected developments along the way for the gaming industry in 2012. And, in the end, the gaming consumer will be the one who decides which technology or title goes on to glory and which goes in the discount bin.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/05/tech/gaming-gadgets/gaming-2012/index.html

Warner Bros. Planning 56-Day Release Window Delays

Here we go again.

For the past year, studios have been flirting with stretching out the delays on when Netflix, Redbox and Blockbuster can rent new releases, but it looks like Warner Bros. is going to be the first to take the plunge.

The studio plans to make the home entertainment companies wait 56 days from when new releases go on sale to offer DVDs and Blu-rays, according to a report from AllThingsD.

The move is seen as part of an ongoing effort by the industry to prop up a DVD market that has struggled to keep pace with plunging disc sales and a shift among many consumers to digital streaming.

Also read: HBO Refuses to Sell DVDs, Blu-rays to Netflix

A spokesman for Warner Bros. declined to comment on “speculation.”

A spokesperson for Redbox would only say, “The current agreement Coinstar has with Warner Bros. is to receive movie titles 28-days after their release. No revised agreements are in place.”

Netflix and Blockbuster did not respond to requests for comment.

AllThingsD reports that the new pacts will be announced at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Warner Bros.’ distribution contracts with Netflix and Redbox are due up at the end of this month, according to an individual with knowledge of the deals. It is not clear when the pact with Blockbuster expires.

Under the current agreement, Netflix and Redbox are giving discounts on discs in return for honoring a 28 day delay on when they offer new releases.

The news comes as Time Warner subsidiary HBO said that it will no longer provide discs to Netflix. The red-envelope company can still buy discs from third-party distributors, thanks to the First Sale doctrine which allows companies to resell pre-recorded discs, but it will pay more for them.

If Warner Bros. gambit works, expect other studios to follow suit. If the battle over release windows that unspooled a few years ago is any guide, that will also mean lots of legal wrangling and bad blood.

Happy New Year!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/06/idUS87226089920120106

Rumors of new iPads heat up as 2012 arrives

Faster processor. Several reports have suggested that the new iPads will have a new, faster processor that will offer quicker browsing, gaming and other activity.

Apple recently started using a plant in Austin, Texas, to manufacture computer chips, according to a Reuters report and other sources. Analysts have speculated that facility, owned by Samsung, could be the source of the new processors.

Sharper screen. It’s also a relatively safe bet to expect a higher-resolution screen, an upgrade that’s been a staple in most new permutations of Apple’s mobile products. Reports of a much stronger battery have also surfaced in multiple places and seem to have some merit.

Voice control. One can’t help wonder whether Apple will add Siri, the iPhone 4S’s voice-control “virtual assistant,” to the new iPad as well.

A cheaper iPad. Also possible is that Apple will attempt to address, in some way, the recent success of the smaller, simpler Kindle Fire tablet from Amazon, which costs $300 less than the entry-level iPad 2.

No single tablet computer from Apple’s competitors had gained much traction until Amazon rolled out the Fire this holiday season. The company says it sold more than 4 million Kindles in December, and most of those are believed to be Kindle Fires.

How Apple may address that competition has prognosticators split.

Taiwan-based DigiTimes, which sparked much of Thursday’s speculation with a report that the new iPad will be unveiled in January, also reported that the company will roll out two new tablets and that the iPad 2 would get a price cut to let it compete more directly with the Fire.

(It should be noted that DigiTimes has a somewhat spotty track record, doing pretty well with reports out of its native Taiwan but missing the mark more often on other news).

The same site quoted unnamed sources just two weeks ago saying that Apple would be unveiling a 7-inch tablet to match the Fire, a departure that would seem unlikely unless it was in the works well before Amazon’s new gadget was announced.

Shim attempted to throw cold water on the concept that Apple will take a step back in features to try to snuff Amazon.

“They don’t want to create any hint of a second-class product,” he told CNET. “They have no reason. They’re selling as many as they can make. And this next-generation device is going to reinforce that supply-demand dynamic.”

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/30/tech/mobile/apple-ipad-rumors/index.html

If I Die: Facebook App Lets You Leave Sweet Last Words

Facebook profiles don’t die the same way people do. If I Die is a Facebook app that makes sure, even if you die, your social self can still send out your last wishes and post messages to your friends years after you’re gone.

If I Die lets “you” post a final message to your wall and loved one when you’re dead. After installing the app, you choose three “trustees” (Facebook friends) who are charged with verifying your death. Users can then record videos or craft any number of Facebook posts to be published posthumously. When your trustees confirm your death, your messages can be published all at once to your Facebook wall or released on a designated schedule.

It might be a little morbid to start recording farewell messages, but Wilook, the Israel-based company behind the app, built the app because nobody really knows when death will come: “We all have things to say and don’t necessarily have the audience with the patience to hear us,” says Eran Alfonta, the app’s co-founder and CEO. “Actually we all want to leave something behind, we all want to leave a stamp behind us.”

Alfonta got the idea when two of his married friends traveled to Italy without their children and narrowly escaped a fatal car crash with a truck. “They stopped aside and drank water and relaxed and started speaking between themselves: ‘Oh my god, what would happen to the kids if something happened to me?’” They asked Alfonta to create a website where they could record something secret to their kids that would only be sent if they died.
http://mashable.com/2012/01/06/if-i-die-facebook-app/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron:

Ready Player One. Found out Klax is on NES AND Atari 2600! Must-own!!

Gozer:

Kindle: As Darkness Ends & Ready Player One. Skyrim Xmas.

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The Geek’s Choice: 2FUR! Snapseed / MI:4 Ghost Protocol & Contagion

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Featured Segment: Turtle Beach XP 500 (MW3 Edition) Programmable Wireless Surround Sound headphones

The Turtle Beach XP500 is a special version of the critically-acclaimed PX5 that’s designed specifically for the XBOX 360 and includes an XBA Bluetooth adapter for wireless XBOX Live chat. Just like the PX5, the XP500 delivers the ultimate gaming audio experience with a programmable digital signal processor, Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound, Bluetooth technology, and XBOX LIVE wireless chat, making it the most technologically advanced headset ever designed for the XBOX 360.

The DSP allows gamers to enhance and personalize the entire gaming audio experience with fully customizable game, chat and mic signals. Custom presets stored in the Turtle Beach XP500 headset can be selected during specific parts of the game to emphasize sounds like footsteps or reloads that might otherwise be difficult to hear. It can even be programmed to disguise your voice or to enhance the voices of online players so you can hear them more clearly during intense parts of the game.

Bluetooth technology lets you chat wirelessly on XBOX LIVE and PSN, answer mobile phone calls and stream music – all while gaming in immersive 360 degree surround sound.

Although optimized for Xbox 360 gaming, the Turtle Beach XP500 is also perfect for watching movies and listening to music, with its impeccable audio performance, large, deep, fabric cushions, soft headband, and twist cup designed for resting the headset on your shoulders. The Turtle Beach XP500 continues the evolution of a new breed of wireless gaming headset that serves as the ultimate “secret weapon” in the arsenal of serious gamers seeking unmatched audio quality, sonic control and a competitive advantage.

Engineered For Gaming™

Customizable Presets
Configure up to 18 personalized presets to optimize game, chat and mic audio for different gaming situations. XBOX LIVE Wireless Chat
Ditch the chat cable and go totally wireless with the included XBA Bluetooth chat adapter.

Dolby 5.1/7.1 Surround Sound

Immersive 360 degree audio lets you hear the direction of every sound, as if you were playing with speakers all around you. Sonic Silencers
Enjoy total silence by eliminating ambient noise pickup on your mic and cutting background noise from PSN or XBOX LIVE® chat sound.
Digital RF Wireless Game Sound

Uncompressed wireless digital audio signal achieves CD-quality game sound that rivals professional-grade wired headphones. Sonic Lens™ + Sound Field Expander
Widen or narrow the sound field to focus on audio cues that are difficult to hear like footsteps sneaking up on you or the click of someone reloading in the distance.
Voice Morphing
Disguise your voice by changing the sound from deep lows to screeching highs. Interactive Voice Prompts
A voice announces critical headphone status conditions, such as battery low, preset numbers, and more.
Dual-Pairing Bluetooth Wireless Chat
Chat wirelessly on XBOX LIVE, answer mobile phone calls or listen to streaming music while gaming. Ear Guard™ with Blast Limiter
Limit the intensity of deafening game sounds such as explosions and gunfire to reduce ear fatigue during long gaming sessions.
Dynamic Chat Boost™
Chat level increases automatically as the game volume gets louder, so you can always hear the voices of other players. XBOX 360® and PS3 Compatible
Delivers the ultimate gaming experience with XBOX 360 and PS3 consoles.
Microphone Monitoring
Hear your voice in the headset, so you won’t have to shout to hear what you’re saying.

http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/xbox-gaming-headsets/ear-force-xp500.aspx

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Feedback & Items of Note:

@magtimmag Curious about what you think/have found on the 4S using 2X the data of the 4… http://goo.gl/iEnuO

This Week’s Question: What is the product / product category you’d like to be banned from CES?

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Sponsors:

MozyPro Online Backup: Simple, Automatic & Secure Backup: http://mozy.com/pro

The Geekcast #297 – 2011 Outtakes

geekcast — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:00:07 +0000

Enjoy the bloopers, pre-show singing and fun we had in 2011!

The Geekcast #296 – 2012 Predictions Special

geekcast — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:30:53 +0000

On today’s show we review our tech predictions episode 249. You can find that show here: http://www.geekcastonline.com/2010/12/the-geekcast-249-2011-predictions-special/
2011 Tech Predictions:

Aaron: Google TV is a complete bust, will be discontinued – HALF-RIGHT
iPhone 5 on Verizon- both GSM & CDMA (not 4G), blows away iPhone 4 – HALF-RIGHT
eBooks take over and outsell physical books – RIGHT

http://mashable.com/2011/01/27/kindle-books-outselling-paperbacks/

Gozer: Nintendo 3-DS will be a huge success – WRONG
PSP2 & PSP phone – RIGHT

http://www.androidcentral.com/sony-ericsson-officially-announces-xperia-play

iPhone for Verizon ( LTE network problems ) – HALF-RIGHT

Allen: More tablets w/ mobile OS’s – RIGHT (Too many Android tablets to link to)
Subscription service from Apple for music – HALF-RIGHT
Flying car for the public – WRONG

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2012 Tech Predictions:

Aaron: Google puts parts of Chrome into Android and then kills the Chrome OS.
Netflix announces a landmark licensing deal with all content companies that ends all
content problems with streaming and enters a renaissance for their service.
Color eInk hits the market, leading to ePaper versions of Kindle, Nook & Sony reader.

Gozer: PS Vita will sell moderately well.
Wii U? WTF?
Next Xbox announced ( just a glimpse ) at E3.
Console and portable gaming cloud saves
iPhone 5 (4g) next fall.
15 -20 new Android phones in 2012.

Allen: Netbooks begin exiting the market
Gestures, voice & speech dictation/services will gain traction; people will be comfortable using it
Streaming services will exponentially grow out of convenience and to defeat pirating
38.5 new Android phones in 2012

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The Geekcast #295 – 2011 Holiday Freestyle

geekcast — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:30:32 +0000

Today we begin our holiday episodes. Enjoy Aaron, Gozer and Allen’s freestyling of holiday’s past.

The Geekcast #294 – Samsung Galaxy Nexus Review

geekcast — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:53:30 +0000

News:

Nintendo’s Miyamoto Stepping Down, Working on Smaller Games

The creator of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda will step down from his current position at Nintendo but remain with the company to work on smaller, more personal projects, Wired.com has learned.

In an exclusive interview with Wired.com on Wednesday, Shigeru Miyamoto, the 59-year-old head of Nintendo’s game design department, said that he will move away from supervising the development of massive games like this year’s Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Super Mario 3D Land, passing the torch to the younger designers in the company and working on projects that won’t take as long to complete.

“Inside our office, I’ve been recently declaring, ‘I’m going to retire, I’m going to retire,’” Miyamoto said through his interpreter. “I’m not saying that I’m going to retire from game development altogether. What I mean by retiring is, retiring from my current position.”

“What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself,” Miyamoto said. “Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small.”
Miyamoto said that he’s hoping to start work on a project in 2012, and hopefully show the game off publicly within the year.

“In other words, I’m not intending to start from things that require a five-year development time,” he said. Miyamoto, whose creations propelled Nintendo to worldwide prominence beginning with 1981′s arcade game Donkey Kong and who is generally recognized as the world’s most influential and creative game designer, said he felt comfortable stepping away from supervising the Mario and Zelda games because his staff has done such a good job with this year’s critically acclaimed entries in both series.

“I’m saying this because I have a solid reaction from the existing teams,” he said. “I was able to nurture the developers inside Nintendo who were able to create something like this or something like that,” he said, gesturing to banners in the interview room in Nintendo’s office that showed the logos of Skyward Sword and Mario 3D Land.

The reason Miyamoto keeps telling the younger developers that he’s going to retire is to send the message that he won’t always be around for them to work with.
“The reason why I’m stressing that is that unless I say that I’m retiring, I cannot nurture the young developers,” he said. “After all, if I’m there in my position as it is, then there’s always kind of a relationship. And the young guys are always kind of in a situation where they have to listen to my ideas. But I need some people who are growing up much more than today.”

As for himself, Miyamoto seemed eager to get to work on his new ideas with a smaller, younger staff.
“Anyway, I’m interested in doing a variety of many other things,” he said with his usual cryptic smile.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/12/miyamoto-interview/

2011 Spike VGA winners recap

Game of the Year: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Best Action Adventure Game: Batman: Arkham City
Best Xbox 360 Game: Batman: Arkham City
Best Adapted Videogame: Batman: Arkham City
Best PS3 Game: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deceptiont
Best Graphics: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Best Wii Game: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Best Motion Game: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Best Fighting Game: Mortal Kombat
Best Independent Game: Minecraft
Best Handheld/Mobile Game: Super Mario 3D Land
Best Song in a Game: Bastion
Best Original Score: Bastion
Best Downloadable Game: Bastion
Best Individual Sports Game: Fight Night Champion
Best PC Game: Portal 2
Best Multiplayer: Portal 2
Best DLC: Portal 2
Best Performance by a Human Male: Portal 2
Best Performance by a Human Female: Portal 2
Best Driving Game: Forza Motorsport 4
Best Shooter: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Character of the Year: The Joker
Best RPG: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Studio of the Year: Bethesda Game Studios

http://www.shacknews.com/article/71514/2011-spike-vga-winners-recap#

Kindle Fire software update coming in less than two weeks, performance and UI improvements promised

In the wake of user complaints about web browsing speeds and other performance issues, Amazon has told the New York Times that it will be releasing a software update for the Kindle Fire “in less than two weeks.” That timeframe would put this new software update about a month after the 6.2 update released at the end of November.

The improvements will include performance updates and (finally) the ability to edit the list of recently used items on the home-screen carousel. A tipster has also informed us that this OTA software update should include performance updates related to Silk browser, whose performance when used via Amazon’s cloud servers has not quite lived up to Amazon’s original claims.

The New York Times also repeats speculation that there will be another version of the Kindle Fire in the Spring. During the Kindle Fire’s launch, when asked about the possibility of a larger Kindle Fire in the future, Amazon coyly told Engadget only “stay tuned.” We’d happily take another size option for the Fire, but in the meanwhile we’ll settle for that software update.

http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/11/2629405/kindle-fire-ota-software-update-coming-less-than-two-weeks

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Done with Steve Jobs book. Contemplating Apple TV or a Roku.

Gozer: Parents finally used Vudu!

Allen: Signed up for Netlfix.

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The Geek’s Choice:

Xbox Dashboard Update

Bing, Home, Social, Video, Games, Music Apps & Settings. Bumpers, Kinect swipes or Voice Control.

Beacons: Messages about what u wanna play and the time. Facebook integration too.

Netflix: Lot’s of rows of video!

Cloud Storage: Comes up as an option to load data from. Hard drive, Thumb Drive & Cloud Storage. 1/2 g of memory. No more Gamertag recoveries! Yay!

Xbox live app for iPhone

Coming Soon Apps: Vudu! Cinema Now( 2012). Crackle. Dailymotion. iHeartradio. HBO Go ( 2012)

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Featured Segment: Android Phone of the Week: Samsung Galaxy Nexus

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Feedback & Items of Note: This is our final live episode of 2011!

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #293 – Accell’s PowerSquid & Sony Media Streaming Reviews

geekcast — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 03:57:46 +0000

News:

Microsoft’s bid to rule your living room with the Xbox 360 begins tomorrow

Microsoft laid out a grand plan to turn your Xbox 360 into an even stronger hub for everything from television shows and movies to music at E3 this year. That dashboard update launches tomorrow, bringing with it the ability to use your Kinect to search for content across every service you have connected to your system, as well as Microsoft’s digital storefronts on Xbox Live and live television.

Unfortunately, not all of Microsoft’s content partners will be ready for the service’s launch tomorrow. HBO Go won’t be available until early 2012, nor will Comcast’s Xfinity on-demand library. Here are the services that will be available tomorrow, along with which market they will be active:

EPIX. United States
ESPN on Xbox LIVE (ESPN). United States
Hulu. Japan
Hulu Plus. United States
LOVEFiLM. United Kingdom
Netflix. Canada, United States
Premium Play by (MediaSet). Italy
Sky Go (SkyDE). Austria, Germany
Telefónica España – Movistar Imagenio. Spain
TODAY (MSNBC). United States

The search functionality that allows you to look for content across a variety of outlets and apps is fascinating, as is the ability to control the service by waving your arms if you own a Microsoft Kinect, but the real power of these deals is the emphasis they place on Microsoft’s hardware. By bundling all our digital subscriptions and content through the Xbox 360, Microsoft wants to make sure your gaming console is at the heart of your entertainment center. Xbox Live subscribers and subscribers of these digital services won’t have access to much in the way of new content, but it will all be centralized in one location.

This is different than the Apple TV’s strategy of offering content such as television shows and movies as discrete items and selling or renting them directly to consumers as well as streaming your existing content. Microsoft wants to be the box you turn on when you want to watch anything, whether it’s live or streaming, no matter what content delivery service you’re going to be enjoying.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/12/microsofts-bid-to-rule-your-living-room-with-the-xbox-360-begins-tomorrow.ars

Gowalla confirms move to Facebook, service to shut down in January

Reports of an acquisition first surfaced on CNN Money late last week, and now Gowalla has confirmed that it has indeed been acquired by Facebook. According to the company, the Gowalla service itself will be winding down at the end of January, and the team will instead focus all of their attention on developing Facebook features (namely, Timeline). Gowalla’s Josh Williams also assures users that their personal information isn’t a part of the acquisition, although the company will be providing users with a way to export their Passport data and other information. You can find his full post announcing the deal at the source link below.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/05/gowalla-confirms-move-to-facebook-service-to-shut-down-in-janua/

Grand Central Apple Store opening December 9th, giving New Yorkers eight billionth way to buy an iPad

It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like Apple’s finally ready to take the wraps off its latest store. The company’s latest New York City outpost is set to get its grand opening in landmark Grand Central Terminal on December 9th, leaving only a few weeks for some combative holiday shopping amidst tourists, fellow commuters and kids from the suburbs. According to an email sent to customers, the store will open its doors for the first time on Friday at 10AM, so you should probably start lining up in an hour or two — after all, nothing beats claustrophobia, a little elbowing and that new Apple Store smell, right?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/05/grand-central-apple-store-opening-december-9th-giving-new-yorke/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Path for iOS, Apple emails for products are like baseball cards: “got it, got it, need it, got it.” Took advantage of my first Foursquare deal.

Gozer: Tweetbot, A -Breaker, Skyrim Rap & SNL Digital Short Batman

Rayman Origins

Skyrim Rap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50u0zUeCmU

SNL Digital Short Batman

http://www.hulu.com/watch/306771/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-batman

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The Geek’s Choice: Accell’s Power Squid

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Featured Segment: Review Sony SMP N100 Media Player

Wirelessly stream movies, TV episodes, videos and music from Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Hulu Plus and more with the SMP-N100 streaming player with Wi-Fi. Enjoy your digital content in up to Full HD 1080p when you connect a USB drive or wirelessly stream it over your home network using your PC or other DLNA compliant device1. You can even download the free “BD remote” app to turn your iPhone, iPod touch, or compatible Android phone into a versatile remote control.

Stream your favorite content to any TV

Turn your smartphone into a versatile remote control with keyboard

Built-in wireless lets you connect to your network without the extra wires

Integrated USB port makes it easy to share home movies and pictures
Entertainment on Tap

There’s always something on. Using your home broadband internet connection, you can instantly experience a world of online entertainment and stream movies, TV shows, videos and music from huge selection of entertainment apps including Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Hulu Plus and many more.
Stream to Any TV

Use the HDMI output to add high-definition multimedia streaming to any HD television equipped with an HDMI port (HDMI cable required, sold separately). You can also connect to virtually any other TV using the component or composite video outputs.
Mobile Phone Remote Control

Turn your iPhone, iPod touch, Sony Ericson Xperia X10 or any Android phone into a versatile remote control with keyboard. Download the free “BD remote” app and access movie info, search entertainment topics and more.
Built-in Wireless

Connect to the internet without extra cables. Equipped with integrated Wi-Fi, the streaming player lets you to easily connect to your home’s wireless broadband network4 and wirelessly stream content from a large selection of entertainment apps.
Stream Content from Your PC

Enjoy your favorite media files on your TV–all without leaving the couch. This DLNA Certified media player lets you access videos, photos and music stored on your DLNA Certified computer or other DLNA compliant devices using your home network.
What’s in the Box

Sony SMP-N100 Streaming Media Player, AV cable, AC power cable, RMT-D301 remote with battery, instruction manual.
#1 Home Video Brand based on units sold for 2010 according to The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service.
Technical Specifications

DLNA Certified Client: Yes
Format Support: AAC, AVC-HD, DivX, JPEG, MP3, MPG, WMA, WMV
Analog Audio 2ch Outputs (L,R): 1
Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Outputs: 1
Composite Video Outputs: 1
Ethernet Ports: 1
HDMI Outputs: 1
Optical Audio Digital Outputs: 1
USB Ports: 1 (front)
Dimensions: 7-3/8″ x 1-5/8″ x 7-3/8″ (185x40x185mm)
Weight: 1 lb 8oz (680g)
Product Description

Enjoy a variety of entertainment with the Sony SMP-N100 Network Media Player. Wirelessly stream movies, TV episodes, videos, and music from Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, Slacker, and more. Easily access your music, videos and photos in up to Full HD 1080p when you connect a USB drive or wirelessly stream them over home network using your PC. You can even download the free “BD remote” app to turn your iPhone, iPod touch, or compatible Android phone into a versatile remote.

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Feedback & Items of Note: There are currently no items of note.

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #292 – Kindle Fire Review – Tech Turkey?

geekcast — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 03:13:48 +0000

News:

Android triggering record levels in malware, says McAfee

Malware targeted toward Android devices continues to surge, says a new report from McAfee, pushing 2011 to become the busiest year in history for both mobile and general malware.

The amount of malware infecting Android devices during the third quarter grew almost 37 percent from the second quarter, according to McAfee’s Third-Quarter Threats Report (PDF). Android’s growing demand among consumers has made it an increasingly ripe and inviting target for cybercriminals.

Among all mobile platforms, Nokia’s Symbian OS is still seeing the greatest amount of malware. But almost all new mobile malware over the third quarter was aimed squarely at Android.

One common scheme against Android is led by Trojans that collect personal information and steal money from the user by sending SMS messages. Another type of malware records phone conversations and sends them to the attacker.

As a result of onslaught against Android and the growth in overall malware, McAfee now believes the industry will see 75 million unique pieces of malware by the end of the year, up from its previous forecast of 70 million. That number promises to make 2011 a record year for malware.

“This has been a very steady quarter in terms of threats, as both general and mobile malware are more prevalent than ever,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs, in a statement. “So far this year, we’ve seen many interesting yet challenging trends that are affecting the threat landscape, including heightened levels of sophistication and high-profile hacktivist attacks.”

Phony antivirus products, AutoRun malware, and password-stealing Trojans were among the most common types of malware in the quarter, staging a rebound from previous quarters. Malware aimed at the Mac also continues to grow as Apple computers experience greater demand among both consumers and businesses.

The number of botnet infections inched down over the third quarter but staged some dramatic gains in countries such as Argentina, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela. Cutwail, Festi, andLethic proved to be the most dangerous and damaging botnets last quarter.

And though spam has dropped in numbers since 2007, it’s grown in sophistication, according to McAfee. Spearphishing, or targeted spam, is increasingly being adopted by more attackers and is proving to be a highly effective form of malware.

“The noise tells us spam levels have dropped, yet the signal we need to hear is that the bad guys have changed their tactics,” the report noted. “They are protecting their business models and are doing so with a sophistication that creates a more dangerous threat than before.”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57328575-83/android-triggering-record-levels-in-malware-says-mcafee/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver

Week in gaming: Skyrim, Xbox turns 10, Saints Row 3

Skyrim sells a reported 3.5 million units in 2 days, shows demand for single-player gaming: Skyrim isn’t just a critical hit, as the game’s publisher estimates around 3.5 million copies of the game have been sold in two days. Gamers are happy to support big budget, lengthy single-player games.

Saints Row 3 is the GTA-clone that worships at the altar of fun: Saints Row: The Third asks you to create a repugnant character in the deep character creation mode, and then explore a city where almost everything is possible. This is a game that wants you to have fun, and you will… especially in co-op.

The Xbox turns ten: how Halo showed the industry the future of gaming: The first Xbox was a system that could have survived without Halo, but it wouldn’t have been easy.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations review: the upside of yearly releases: Assassin’s Creed: Revelations may not bring many new ideas to the franchise, but it executes everything it needs to very well.

Nintendo under fire: why the 3DS could take off during the holidays: The 3DS is far from dead, and Nintendo is in a wonderful position to turn the once-flailing system into a major player this holiday season.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary awkward but ultimately fulfilling for fans: This $40 remake of Halo: Combat Evolved brings updated graphics, sound, and online multiplayer to one of the classics of console games. Skeptics won’t be won over, but fans will be in heaven.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/11/week-in-gaming-skyrim-menus-xbox-turns-10-saints-row-3.ars

Galaxy Nexus outdoes iPhone in browsing, but not graphics

With a new Google phone–and the first one to be delivered with Android 4.0 Ice Cream sandwich–on the horizon, the iPhone 4S rivalry is inevitable, and we’ve got some benchmark data to fan the flames of the feud.

The soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy Nexus has been run through the benchmark gauntlet and AnandTech compiled the results to find it bested all comers in the web browsing department.

The Google phone was put through a pair of browsing benchmarks–Sunspider Javascript Benchmark 0.9.1 and Rightware Browsermark–and it came out with the top results in both cases, ahead of the Droid RAZR running Gingerbread and iPhone 4S running iOS 5, which swapped turns in the 2nd and 3rd place spots.

The Galaxy Nexus running Ice Cream Sandwich melted all the competition in the browsing department.

All this means that the Galaxy Nexus appears to render Web pages faster than all the other leading phones on the market right now. Anand credits a combination of a fast processor and software enhancements in Ice Cream Sandwich:
The CPU side of things is comparable to Apple’s A5, although the cores are clocked noticeably higher than the 800MHz we saw in the iPhone 4S….The real advantage the Galaxy Nexus has is on the software side. All of the goodness of Honeycomb makes its way to a handset along with even further optimization work. One of the early Galaxy Nexus owners ran the usual browser benchmarks on his phone and shared the results with us. Google has obviously done a lot of browser optimization in ICS as performance is now better than even Honeycomb.

It’s not a complete victory for the Galaxy Nexus however. It wasn’t able to keep up with the iPhone 4S in the graphics department. In fact it was significantly out done by the beefier GPU in the latest iPhone in two framerate benchmark tests:

It should be noted that the Galaxy Nexus should still have plenty of GPU heft to deliver a fine experience, and that benchmark data doesn’t always hold up in a real world full of bottlenecked networks and buggy apps. But I’ll save that for a later chapter in this tale of yet another epic gadget feud.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57328434-1/galaxy-nexus-outdoes-iphone-in-browsing-but-not-graphics/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver

Google opens music download store, welcomes artists to upload directly

Google has decided to join the rest of the online music party and begin selling music directly to users. The announcement came during the company’s Google Music event on Wednesday wherein Google announced various changes, improvements, and new features coming to its music streaming service. The most significant announcements, however, revolved around the fact that Google is finally getting on the music-selling bandwagon instead of referring its customers to content partners, and the company will even begin allowing musicians to upload and sell their music directly to customers through the store.

When Google Music went into beta earlier this year, it started out as a streaming-only service. Users could upload their music directly from their music libraries, which could then be played back via the Web to any computer or on any compatible Android devices. Google referred people who wanted to purchase new music to Amazon’s MP3 store, and Google-branded Android devices even began coming with the Amazon music store preinstalled.

Now, however, Google has partnered directly with music labels in order to sell music downloads directly to customers via the Android Market. The company said it had already signed deals with EMI, Sony, and Universal—with one member of the Big Four conspicuously missing—as well as thousands of indie labels and a number of indie “aggregators” such as TuneCore and CD Baby. “You don’t need to search the web anymore for music,” Google said during its presentation, “just search the market!”

(Google is keeping the uploading and streaming features of Google Music around despite the introduction of music downloads to the Android Market. The company says the service is now open to all users in the US and will remain free for the foreseeable future.)

Forget the major artists though, or even TuneCore and CD Baby for that matter. The most interesting element of the presentation was related to Google’s new Artist Hub; this essentially allows musicians without a music label to completely bypass services like TuneCore—which is what allows them to put their music on othermajor music stores like iTunes and Amazon—and upload their music directly to Google for sale to users. Artists can build their own artist pages, upload original content, and set their own prices, with Google giving artists 70 percent of sales revenue. (We sure hope Google has a top-notch accounting department for as many individual artist accounts they’re about to start managing!) Musicians who want to participate in the Artist Hub are required to pay a one-time registration fee, but won’t have to pay annual or upload fees after that.

This is simultaneously good and bad news. It’s good for independent artists, who could use any break they can get in order to get more exposure. Allowing undiscovered artists to upload their music directly to a store with a well-known name and sell directly to users is the fantasy that MySpace Music was never able to fully achieve, and up-and-coming musicians will undoubtedly love it. Hardcore music geeks who are always on the hunt for new content will love it too.

But what about the types of music listeners who would rather stick to professionally produced content—the kind that has gone through layers and layers of curation at the hands of talent scouts, producers, and music labels? Google patted itself on the back for making its main Google Music page curated by staff members so that only the best stuff is up front, and the company simultaneously (and repeatedly) said that users won’t have to “search as hard” for the music they’re looking for. But will it really be easier? As I said on Twitter during the event, with the soon-to-be influx of uploads from independent musicians, it may actually become harder to search for music simply because of the sheer number of musicians that will soon be available.

(For what it’s worth, I think Artist Hub is a great thing. That doesn’t mean it won’t be more difficult to search for music, though, due to volume.)

There are a number of other features that came along with the launch, such as the ability to share songs with your friends on Google+ (they will be able to listen to each song once), as well as shared playlists. The new store is already online at market.android.com and will roll out to Android devices running Android 2.2 or higher “over the next few days.”

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/11/google-opens-music-download-store-welcomes-artists-to-upload-directly.ars

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Hopped onto the iTunes Match train. Very interesting so far but still getting my feet wet. Looking to have a full review in an upcoming show.

Gozer: Skyrim & Saints Row 3

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The Geek’s Choice: Hot Black Friday Deals!

Becky Worley (@bworley) tweeted out some awesome doorbuster deals for Black Friday! Some include:

Damn! 17″ HP laptop for $388 @walmart http://goo.gl/xuAaa #blackfriday

Best bang for your buck laptop: $399 HP Intel core i3 processor, 4GB ram, 640GB HD, save $200. goo.gl/2aki0 #blackfriday

Crazy-cheap (kinda jenky) 15″ laptops: @Walmart $198 goo.gl/YORMg @Bestbuy $179 goo.gl/MD8Mr #blackfriday

All coffee makers, espresso machines, & kettles 40% off @Macys goo.gl/41fzr #blackfriday #presentformom

Seagate 2TB Internal SATA hard drive $69 @officedepot. External version $69 @costco goo.gl/gZpB8 #blackfriday

best price on Beats By Dre: @Target $179 & they give you a $50 Target gift card when you buy. goo.gl/1YEF7 #blackfriday

Best Streaming/Blu-Rayplayer deal: Toshiba BDX2150 $39 iNSANE PRICE. goo.gl/68B1V #blackfriday #isoundlikecrazyeddie

Not such a sexy gift, but a good price- Kenmore front-load washer & dryer $469 each, Reg. $940. goo.gl/T5nfj #blackfriday

Best DSLR camera deal: Canon EOS 12.2 MP bundle w/ 2 lenses- 18-55 & 75-300 for $599

Samsung wireless color laser printer. normally $199 BF price: $80!

Best TV deals: Best Buy- Sharp 42 inch LCD (60hz) $199. Target – Westinghouse 46″ LCD $298.

XBox+ Kinect + 1 game + a $50 Walmart gift card = $350 value for $199 @Walmart. Best Kinect bundle I’ve seen. #blackfriday

For $199 you can get a great Xbox bundle at BB: bfads.net/Best-Buy-Black… and a $99 Kinect bundle at Target:

Places to find more BF deals: http://bfads.net/dealnews.com dealnews.com blackfriday.info

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Featured Segment: Kindle Fire Review

Allen comes onto the show to review the new Amazon Kindle Fire.

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Feedback & Items of Note:

It’s our Thanksgiving show and you know what that means! Enjoy our annual end-of-show surprise.

@BobDole369 said on Twitter: FYI: Blockbuster boxes down here in Fort Lauderdale nearly outnumber redboxes. Just answering your open query

Martin on G+: GREAT – happy to see you here (as I never got into twitter and facebook). Looking forward to your next shows. Being an android guy living in Germany: have you heard that Motorola won a case and Apple Inc. is no longer allowed to sell iDevices?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/04/german-court-grants-injunction-against-apple-for-infringement-of/

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #291 – Modern Warfare 3 Review

geekcast — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:07:00 +0000

News:

Modern Warfare 3: While Movie Industry Struggles, Gaming Thrives

Aidan Joyce, a 20-year-old student at Georgia State, downloads “a lot of films” for free online. “Terabytes worth,” he says. But he does pay for video games. Monday night, Joyce got in line at Edgewood Mall in Atlanta to pay $60 for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on the midnight of its release.

At a time when the music industry is Auto-Tuning its own eulogy and Hollywood has all but given up on DVDs, analysts estimate that the latest edition of Activision Blizzard’s (ATVI) hit series sold between 5 million to 6 million copies on the first day. Others think that’s low: Some have estimated first-day sales of 9.3 million copies.

Worldwide, 1.5 million people lined up at midnight events to score copies of the video game, CEO Eric Hirshberg told analysts on Activision Blizzard third quarterearningscall Tuesday afternoon. These are record numbers not only for a video game, but for any media property, and its total sales are predicted to rival those of a blockbuster film.

Modern Warfare 3 is expected to bring in between $1.5 billion and $1.6 billion, estimates Arvind Bhatia, managing director of Sterne Agee & Leach. For comparison,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : Part 2 grossed $1.3 billion.

“The audience [for video games] is expanding and companies are doing a good job of exploiting big audiences,” Bhatia says.

“Video games are becoming more cinematic as technology catches up with user expectations. This is contributing to popularity,” Bhatia says.

Meanwhile, the at-home movie industry is in flux, with Netflix (NFLX) losing customers due to price hikes and unpopular business moves, and services like Amazon Prime (AMZN) clutching at the remainder of consumers still willing to pay for rentals.

Call of Duty: Pirate Warfare

One reason games like Modern Warfare 3 have such huge sales figures is because companies like Activision Blizzard have more control over the distribution of their content than movie studios. In other words, they’re hard to pirate.

On the first day of Call of Duty: Black Ops, the previous release in the game series, were 95% of sales were for the Xbox and Playstation versions, with the remaining 5% for PCs and Wii. It’s worth noting: The PC version of Black Ops was themost pirated game of 2009.

In other words, unlike idle Netflix browsers, gamers are ready and willing to spend $60 on a newly released game, with features that can’t be replicated anywhere else.

“Video games are interactive and provide more value for the buck compared to other forms of entertainment,” Bhatia says.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/11/10/what-to-make-of-modern-warfare-3s-record-breaking-sales/

Google announces Android ‘special event’ for November 16th in Los Angeles

We just got word from Google of an Android-themed event next week, with little more than the words “These Go to Eleven” right up top — a reference to a phrase from the 1984 mockumentary This is Spinal Tap. To top things off, the email came from “Nigel Tufnel,” Christopher Guest’s character from the film. The event kicks off in Los Angeles at 2PM local time (that’s 5PM for you folks on the East Coast) on Wednesday, November 16th. We’ll be there live, and so will you — catch the livestream at YouTube.com/Android.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/11/google-announces-android-special-event-for-november-16th-in-lo/

Logitech Alert Video Security System gets Dropbox support, lets you park 100GB of footage in the cloud

Logitech Alert Video Securty allows remote access to live HD camera footage, and video stored on your PC. But a new partnership with Dropbox adds cloud storage to the equation, letting you boot video directly to the web to supplement the PC- and microSD-based options already in place. Packages are available today, and come with 2GB of storage for free, 50GB for $10 per month or 100GB for $20 per month — Logitech isn’t exactly giving away the service, but when you consider that a bare-bones Alert system costs $300, those virtual add-ons sound a bit more reasonable. Jump past the break for the full rundown from Logitech, and get ready to beef up those passwords — having your email account hacked is one thing, but you certainly don’t want anyone watching you at home, in real-time or the past.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/12/logitech-alert-video-security-system-gets-dropbox-support-lets/

Logitech confesses to ‘gigantic’ mistake with Google TV

Logitech is halting production of its Google TV Revue set-top boxes, acknowledging that the whole affair was a financial disaster for the company.

At an Analyst and Investor Day hosted by Logitech on Wednesday, CEO Guerrino De Luca confessed that the Revue was a “mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature.” In his presentation, DeLuca in part pointed the finger at Google TV, referring to it as a “beta” product,according to The Verge.

De Luca told investors that Logitech lost more than $100 million in operating profits on the Revue after bringing it to the market almost a year ago. As a result, the company will simply let existing inventory of the Revue run out this quarter and will not make another set-top box to replace it.

The CEO intimated that Google TV simply wasn’t ready to launch when it did and that Logitech mistakenly thought the search giant’s product was revolutionary, The Verge reported. DeLuca also blamed his company’s own “operational miscues in EMEA [Europe, Middle East, and Africa]” for the Revue’s failure to ignite the market.

“To make the long story short, we thought we had invented [sliced] bread and we just made them,” DeLuca said. The company made a commitment to “just build a lot because we expected everybody to line up for Christmas and buy these boxes [at] $300…that was a big mistake.”

Launched during last year’s holiday-shopping season, the Revue garnered some praise for its ability to access a variety of online media. But the product was also criticized for being pricey, kludgy, and buggy. In August, Logitech slashed the price of the box to $99 in a move to boost slumping sales.

The limitations in Google TV also may have set up the Revue for failure. Logitech had been counting on a long-awaited 2.0 update to Google TV, which finally launched late last month. But at that point, it was a case of too little, too late–at least for the Revue.

De Luca said he still believes Google TV may have a future but threw in a final dig by saying it would be a “grandchild of Google TV” that would stand a chance.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57322966-93/logitech-confesses-to-gigantic-mistake-with-google-tv/?tag=mncol;1n

iOS 5.0.1 update causing contact, WiFi headaches for some users (Updated)

Apple released the first update to iOS 5 on Thursday, fixing a critical security hole and promising better battery life for iPhone 4S users. However, it now looks like Apple may have not sufficiently tested it before release. Users have begun reporting that the update not only fails to address battery life problems, but may in fact introduce a number of new issues.

The update was Apple’s first public over-the-air “delta” update, downloading directly to a device over WiFi instead of requiring a full iOS download and update via iTunes. Several Ars readers reported the update downloading and installing without a hitch. Numerous other users, however, have chimed in on Apple’s support forums to say they have noticed no improvement in battery life on the iPhone 4S after applying the update.

Furthermore, users are also reporting a rash of new problems that were apparently introduced by the 5.0.1 update. The Next Web reported that some users aren’t getting a proper contact name displayed when receiving a call, despite the name and number appearing in a user’s contact list. Meanwhile, GigaOm reported that users are complaining of microphone problems, WiFi signal issues, and difficulty connecting to cell networks.

These new issues so far appear to be scattered and inconsistent, so it’s unclear what the causes might be. Thankfully—knock on wood—we haven’t experienced any of these issues here in the Orbiting HQ just yet, but the day is still young. Have you applied the 5.0.1 update? Has it helped your battery life? Did it cause any new problems for you? Let us know in the comments.

Update: Apple has once again given a statement to All Things D about continuing battery life issues: “The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 devices. We continue to investigate a few remaining issues.”

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/11/ios-501-update-causing-contact-wifi-headaches-for-some-users.ars

Twitter rolls out real-time activity, username streams

When Twitter tweaks itself, most users don’t see much.

That’s because when the social-networking and microblogging service tests or rolls out new features, it often does so incrementally and with a limited number of users.

That seems to be the case with Twitter’s new activity and username streams that the company announced back on August 10 and that TechCrunch started to see cropping up over the past day or so.

So while Sean Parker, the digital impresario behind Facebook, Spotify, Plaxo, and Causes, was one of the lucky Twitterati (@sparker) to see the latest changes today, user Dan Rinzel (@dan2bit), was not, although he did see the activity streams for a few minutes this morning. “Bad performance experiment?” he tweeted.

Both new features, according to Twitter, are designed to boost content discovery on the site. Clicking on the new @Username tab (your username), lets you to see which of your tweets have been favorited, retweeted, or aimed at you and your followers. The new username feature will replace the @Mentions tab and the Retweet tabs.

Clicking on the new activity tab, meanwhile, reveals the latest favorites, retweets, and follows from the folks you follow at Twitter.

Twitter’s new changes resemble Facebook’s newsfeed where users can see a near real-time flow of updates, posts, and the like from their friends and followers. And by having the latest real-time streams revealed all in one place, in a more visual presentation, it makes the social sharing and discovery process more fluid too.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57320913-93/twitter-rolls-out-real-time-activity-username-streams/?tag=mncol;1n

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Finally gave in and completely organized my Launchpad apps on OS X Lion. Wondering how much I will use Quicksilver after this. Also Growl is now an App Store program and it’s pay-for.

Gozer: Gears 3 Horde mode with Aaron & Mahhhk. Could not beat level 50. Spy Mouse for iPhone. http://firemint.com/spymouse/. Egon Spengler 12 inch figure.

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The Geek’s Choice:

The original iPod, 10 years later: a re-review

Don’t look now, but the iPod—yes, the original, less-space-than-a-Nomad iPod—just turned 10 years old. That makes the device older than Facebook, YouTube, Crocs, Vibram FiveFingers, and the Motorola RAZR, to name a few brands and devices that have penetrated general culture over the last decade. But unlike old flip phones and tacky footwear, the iPod’s overall design remains iconic and its effect on our consumption of music remains pervasive. It was not the first MP3 player on the market, but it was the one whose industrial and UI design would influence handheld gadgets for far longer than its product lifetime.
In fact, it’s not hard to argue that the original iPod is still with us. It can be found most obviously in the iPod classic, but its influences are also found in iOS and even third-party smartphones and music players. Hell, even though the original iPod is 10 years old, you could almost still use it today as your go-to music player… or can you? Ars got its hands on an original 5GB iPod from back in 2001 so that we could re-review it with some 2011 flair—clickwheel and all.
Form factor and navigation

Let’s face it: this thing is bulky. It was bulky in 2001 and it’s still bulky now. Back then, the iPod was being compared against MP3 players with 4MB of built-in Flash memory and an external SD card slot. It was already bad enough then, but today, carrying around an original iPod in your pocket is almost akin to putting those velcro weights on your ankles and then riding a unicycle to work.
Okay, now we’re just being mean. The iPod couldn’t help being what it was in 2001, as hard drive based MP3 players were only starting to become popular. The thing is, aside from the obvious bulk in thickness, the iPod itself still feels decent in the hand—the width of the device is almost the same as an iPhone 4, a detail that makes us wonder whether Apple planned the iPhone this way.
The navigation on this thing is, well, very iPoddish. (iPodesque?) The click wheel, used to adjust volume and navigate playlists, was a new thing for Apple—and the rest of the music player world—in 2001 and despite its novel shape, it really appealed to the general public. Let’s be honest: the click wheel is fun to play with. You can even flip the lock switch and then scroll around with abandon just for fun if you want to. (Not saying we did this but… we did.)
The idea that one might need to use the scroll wheel to navigate playlists was indeed novel when the iPod was first introduced and it worked well for many years—in fact, the iPod classic still does this (albeit without amoving click wheel), and up until 2010, so did the ever-popular iPod nano. Nowadays though, with the advent of fancy touchscreen music players built into our iPhones and Android devices, the concept seems old fashioned. That’s okay though, because decade-old technology is allowed to be a little old fashioned as long as we can still use it intuitively, which we can.
Syncing

Shockingly, the latest version of iTunes (as of this writing) can still connect to and interface with the original iPod, assuming you have the right cable. I had to buy a special Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 cable (you can get one for $4.75 at Monoprice) in order to connect the iPod to my 27″ iMac because, well, no one has Firewire 400 in a computer anymore. In fact, if I wanted to connect the iPod to an even newer and more minimalist machine—such as my 11″ MacBook Air—well, it would be near impossible.
Regardless, when you plug in an original iPod to a modern version of iTunes, you can sync it just like you would a modern iPod, an iPhone, or iPad. In fact, the sync screen looks exactly the same, almost leading one to believe that the original iPod will continue to be supported for long after its current form factor (the iPod classic) is discontinued.
Durability

The word “durability” means something different today than it did in 2001. There were plenty of handheld electronics that could withstand a decent beating back then, but their moving parts still left them more vulnerable to disaster than many of their modern equivalents.
This is definitely the case with the original iPod. The device is a beast—it’s near impossible to destroy to the same level as, say, a plastic Walkman cassette player—but its moving click wheel and “old fashioned” hard drive, spinning disk and all, mean that it can face some unpleasant realities. Over the years, we’ve seen many gunked-up click wheels and even more failed hard drives, so it’s certainly a good thing that Apple has since moved onto static (if existent at all) click wheels and flash storage.
That said, a halfway-careful owner can keep an original iPod alive forever. The one we have in our possession was sent over by an Ars reader who took great care of his devices over the years, and this one is no different. Having spent its whole life inside of a leather case, there are almost no scratches on the front or back of the iPod and everything works as if it were still new. I have full confidence that, pending any catastrophic drops orpossibly being run over by a car, this thing will easily last for another 10 years. Or until Apple ends iTunes support for it, whichever comes first.
Battery life and extras

“But Jacqui,” you’re yelling at the screen, “aside from the hard drive and click wheel, the battery is the next most likely thing to die over time!” This does tend to be true, especially of battery tech from 10 years ago. But the original iPod in its heyday was no wimp—Apple bragged of a 10-hour battery life, which was impressive by 2001 MP3 player standards. We hardly expected to get 10 hours out of a 10-year-old battery, but when messing with our little Apple artifact, we did manage to squeeze out a solid eight hours of music jamming before it petered out. Not bad, iPod, not bad.
Nowadays, the iPod classic can allegedly squeeze 36 hours out of a full charge, the iPod touch 40 hours, and iPod nano 24 hours. The original iPod does not fare too well by comparison, but if you’re listening to music on an original iPod, you’re likely not doing it for the advanced battery technology.
Lest you think that the original iPod can’t do some of the fancy features of the newer iPods, this decade-old device can still sync your iCal calendar items and contacts from your computer—tethered, of course. And remember back when everyone used to use their iPods as pocketable Firewire hard drives that mount on the desktop? Mac OS X Lion graciously still recognizes the original iPod as such, so file away.
Conclusion

The original iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player, but it’s the one that will end up marking the point in history when MP3 players became all the rage. Its unique controls, playlist functionality, easy syncing ability with iTunes, and of course the iTunes Music Store helped to put the iPod and its successors into millions of hands. Even today, 10 years after its first debut, the original iPod can still function as a real, usable music player, even if it does lack the fancy touchscreen and wireless syncing capabilities of its more modern counterparts.
The original iPod set the stage for a decade’s worth of Apple devices, and although we don’t expect the modern replica of the iPod (the iPod classic) to stay around forever, Apple will undoubtedly continue to use the iPod as an influence when creating newer, even more popular gadgets.
Oh, and if you still have one of these original ones lying around, find a FireWire cable and plug it in. You might be surprised at how well it still works.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2011/10/2001-to-2011-ars-re-reviews-the-original-ipod.ars

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Featured Segment: Modern Warfare 3 Review

What you should know:

DLC will appear monthly for 9 months; premium Elite subscribers get it included with their subscription. No news on what the DLC will include as yet. PC players, since they don’t have a premium subscription option, will have to purchase “a la carte” as in the past.

Multiplayer now features new “Strike Packages” instead of killstreaks. Frustrated that you could never get a decent killstreak going? Switch up to a different strike package for an alternative pointstreak reward system.

Multiplayer features a variety of new modes. The new “Kill Confirmed” mode, where you steal downed enemies’ dog tags, is proving popular.

There’s a Modern Warfare 3 limited edition Xbox console available. Details here. The bundle comes with a MW3-themed console, two wireless controllers, a 320GB hard drive and a copy of the game.

Friday Night Fights debuts on November 11. The Call of Duty Elite TV show Friday Night Fights, from executive producers Ridley and Tony Scott and director RJ Cutler, begins this Friday, offering televised coverage of rivals battling it out. Further Elite TV programming can be found at the official site.

You can buy a Call of Duty Jeep. Further details in this story.

The game broke preorder records worldwide. Amazon.co.uk reports that MW3 was the most preordered video game in the company’s history, with 32% more preorders than previous record holder Black Ops last year.

13,000 retailers held midnight launch parties worldwide. GameStop’s senior VP of merchandising Bob McKenzie referred to the game as “the most anticipated video game in history.”

Campaign ( so far) , multi player & Spec ops

http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/224739/modern-warfare-3-is-out-today-here-are-some-things-you-might-like-to-know/

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Feedback & Items of Note:

We are back on Google+! Now that Google has brand pages available, we are back on and ready to provide another way to interact with you guys. Be sure to check us out at http://plus.google.com/u/0/b/101710852094028989637/

Hey Guys

Been up to eyes with work with Christmas so have not had the chance to email. Gozer (which comes up as fixer with auto spelling) you have to get MW3 much better than Battlefield 3!! Gears 3 is great but almost prefer Gears 2. horde 2.0 gets old quickly and a particular song used in the game (don’t want to spoil it) just was so out of place and any gears fan have agreed with me so far.

As always love the show and cant wait to play skyrim!

Barry
-cork, Ireland

Tim via Google+:

Hey guys. Still listening to the last couple minutes of this weeks show. I would disagree w/ your last commentor/emailer… I don’t game either, but, I find your reviews, and such interesting and actually inform me about the new games. Loved the ComiCon episode. Your interviews, and ‘onsite’ enthusiasm were entertaining, along with being fun. Your love of tech ‘shows’ through on each shoe….

Hey Guys!

Checked out the Mario video it was brilliant really well made!

Great competition just made a donation and not only is it for a good cause but the prize is awesome!

Just started Skyrim it’s good, not as much polish as expected but love the spells and combat!

Love the show and keep up the good work!

All the best

-Barry
Cork, Ireland

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #290 – Uncharted 3 Review

geekcast — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:18:55 +0000

News:

Barnes & Noble launches Nook Tablet, lights a fire under Amazon

The tablet offers up a seven-inch IPS display with full lamination, videos up to 1080p and 11.5 hours of battery life. The Nook has 16GB of built-in memory, which is further expandable by way of a microSD slot. The tablet is all about multimedia content, naturally, offering up from Netflix and Hulu Plus pre-loaded on the device. It gives users access to 250 magazines and periodicals, as well as comics from publishers like Marvel. Barnes & Noble is clearly going directly after the Kindle Fire with this device. So, why pick the Nook over the Fire? Double the storage (which is further expandable), a better display, more RAM, free in-store device support and a lighter weight body at under a pound, says Barnes and Noble.

As expected, the Tablet will cost you $249 ($50 more than the competition from Amazon). Pre-orders begin now, and the slate will start shipping next week.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/barnes-and-noble-launches-nook-tablet-lights-a-fire-under-amazon/

Motorola Droid RAZR

The RAZR brand has a long and storied history, starting in the halcyon days of 2004. Back then it was a premium line — set apart from the crowd by its extremely thin profile and aluminum construction. Shortly after launching as an expensive status symbol, Motorola chopped the price and turned the V3 into one of the best selling handsets ever. In the years that followed there were countless revisions, colors and would-be successors that ultimately turned the once-hyped product line into a euphemism for obsolete technology.

Motorola has certainly had success since, particularly with the iconic Droid and Droid X, but alas, the Droid stamp belongs to Verizon. To once again make the name Motorola synonymous with cutting-edge tech, the company has returned to the well and resurrected the RAZR name. Has Moto managed to reclaim the magic and mystique of the V3, which had many a gadget hound coughing up some serious dough upon its initial release? Or is the Droid RAZR a successor in title only, more akin to the ill-fated MOTORAZR maxx? Keep reading to find out.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/motorola-droid-razr-review/

First trailer for Grand Theft Auto V released

The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V was released today by Rockstar Games on the company’s website. No release date was announced, but we now know the game stars a character who regresses into a life of crime after attempting to retire.

The new installment in the GTA franchise was announced only last week via a banner on Rockstar’s website. The new trailer has shots of buildings and signs that suggest it takes place in the state of San Andreas, with cities including the Los Angeles-esque Los Santos, a city based on San Francisco called San Fierro, and a city based on Las Vegas called Las Venturas. One of the final shots in the trailer is of a Hollywood-style sign that reads Vinewood, and an earlier shot shows characters hiking at the foot of a mountain range.

In the voiceover, the narrators says he “wanted to retire” from “that line of work” and speaks of being a father, putting his feet up and raising children. But a regression into a life of crime is (apparently) inevitable.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/11/first-trailer-for-grand-theft-auto-v-released.ars

Another day, another DVD price hike: Blockbuster Express

The trifecta is now complete: NCR’s Blockbuster Express service has hiked DVD rental prices.

Starting Tuesday, customers who want to rent films from Blockbuster Express will be locked into the new 3-2-1 Plan. During the first 28 days after a “hot movie” is released, customers will pay $3 for the first-night’s rental, followed by $1 on subsequent nights. After the 28-day window passes, the same film will be offered for $2 for the first night. All other films that don’t make the “hot movies” or “recent releases” categories will be offered at $1 per night.
Customers who want to rent Blu-ray films from Blockbuster Express will need to pay an addition $1 for the first night.

Late last year, Blockbuster Express started renting new releases for $3 after it inked deals with Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Studios Home Entertainment. However, those rentals were only offered in select areas. Elsewhere around the U.S., Blockbuster Express kiosks have been offering $1-a-night DVD rentals.

The new pricing plan is a direct response to Hollywood studios’ demands on rental companies. For years now, studios have balked at allowing rental firms, including Redbox and Netflix, from renting their DVDs within the first 28 days after launch. The studios reason that by doing so, they can maximize sales revenue on their films, since customers who will want to rent the movies won’t have easy access to them.

By offering its 3-2-1 Plan, Blockbuster Express has all but capitulated to studios. At the same time, however, it could prove to be an important competitive advantage, since its main competitor, Redbox, is forced to wait for many of the latest films.

But there’s more to this story than just studio desire. By announcing its new pricing plan, Blockbuster Express has become the third rental firm to hike prices this year.
The trend started earlier this year when Netflix announced that customers who had been paying a single $9.99-per-month fee for streaming and DVD rentals would be forced to pay $15.98 for the same plan. Not long after, customers balked at the announcement, and last month, Netflix announced that it lost 810,000 customers after the changes were made public.

Last month, Redbox followed that up with a 20 percent price hike, due to an increase in “debit card interchange fees.” The company now charges customers who want to rent DVDs $1.20 per day.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57319579-17/another-day-another-dvd-price-hike-blockbuster-express/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver

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Geek This Week:

Aaron:

Star*Burst for iPhone. If you loved Klax, this is IT! Worth every penny. Game of Thrones = FINISHED! Wow, talk about epic! Very excited to begin the HBO series. Also started the Steve Jobs book on Audio, reading Catching Fire (Hunger Games #2).

I’m also raising money for Share Our Strength, which is helping to put an end to childhood hunger. For each dollar you donate through my personal blog, you get an entry into a contest where I will name a character after you in my next book: As Darkness Ends: Book Two! Visit http://blog.aaroncrocco.com to read all about it and donate!

Gozer: iPhone Stuff: Car, Alarm Clock & Headphones. Gears 3 Horde Pack: Azura, Rustlung & Blood Drive. Have rediscovered Get Glue. Dexter & Hell on Wheels.

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The Geek’s Choice: G-Whizz Review

http://googleappsbrowser.gwhizzapps.com/

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Featured Segment: Uncharted 3 Review

Story Mode, MultiPlayer & Co-op

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Our contest winner for NBA 2K12 is……

PorscheMonkey Porsche Monkey
@TheGeekcast @Gozer360 NBA2K12 entry, #PippenAintEasy

Hi Aaron, hi Gozer,

just to write a quick note to say that I like your show a lot.
You are on my podcast list and I listen to the show while travelling on the road – makes the trips much more entertaining and the time fly by.

Each week, can’t wait for the next episodes to come out.
Disappointed when you miss a week – but I understand – with a son who is 3 years old.

I like the tech stuff, I am not much interested in games and Science Fiction… but there might just be some interesting news in the sections afterwards.
(So I skipped the ComicCon show …)

Keep up the good work and interesting news.

Martin

Go Android!

Listen to Gozer, Mahhhk & John
Spoiler Alert Podcast #67 Ghostbusters

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #289 – NBA 2K12 Review

geekcast — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:36:10 +0000

News:

Interactive video turns Facebook fears into 2 minutes of horror

Unfriend this man, now. “Take This Lollipop” combines horror movie tropes with online security fears.

(CNN) — A sweaty, wild-eyed man in a stained undershirt hunches over his computer in a shadowy basement. He’s broken into your Facebook account and is reading your posts as his dirty, cracked fingernails paw at the keyboard.

Rage (jealousy? hate?) builds as he flips through your photos and scrolls through your list of friends. He rocks back and forth, growing more agitated as the pages flash past. Then he consults a map of your city and heads to his car …

So why … oh, why … did you include so much personal information — and your address — in your profile?

If that all sounds like the stuff of a digital-era horror movie, you’re not far off.

“Take This Lollipop” is an interactive short video that’s been making its way around the Web as Halloween approaches. Visitors to the site are first presented with an image of a lollipop with a razor blade in it — don’t take candy from strangers, kids — and asked to grant access to their Facebook account.

Don’t worry: The application claims it uses your data only once, then deletes it. But the creepy results just might make you think twice about who else gets access to your online information.

The video uses the developer tool Facebook Connect and features actor Bill Oberst Jr. (whose credits range from “The Secret Life of Bees” to the inexplicably Oscarless “Nude Nuns With Big Guns”) as the aforementioned grungy nutjob.

As he stares at his computer, it’s actual photos and other information from your page that he’s scrolling through. (Note to parents: If you’re tagged in pictures of your kids, be ready for those to pop up, too. It ups the ante on creepiness exponentially).

In the weeks since the video went live, viewers have begun sharing it with friends and asking them to video-record themselves while watching it. (This one from YouTube has more than 18,000 views, not to mention a vaguely “Blair Witch Project” vibe.)

Creator Jason Zada, a commercial and viral marketing director who was the brains behind the viral “Elf Yourself” online campaign for OfficeMax, told Porter Gale of Ad Age that he’d been kicking around Halloween ideas and “wanted to do something that messed with people.”

He said the clip is definitely meant to spur thought about how much information we share online.

“Our privacy was dead a while back and will never be the same,” he said. “Life as a whole has changed. If you look at the video, the scariest part is that your information is in the video. The piece is scary because a person is violating your privacy, not because it’s bloody or there’s anything jumping out.”

As of Thursday morning, nearly 2 million people had “liked” the page. How many of them are at Facebook’s headquarters remains unclear.

“I did hear the video project has been polarizing inside of Facebook, and I received a call from Facebook’s Developer Relations Team, ” Zada said. “They were very nice, respectable, and I explained I didn’t want to cross any lines.”

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/27/tech/social-media/take-this-lollipop/

RIM promo: Buy two Playbooks, get one free

Maybe one PlayBook wasn’t enough to get you interested in Research In Motion’s tablet. But three? That’s a whole different story.

At least, that’s what RIM is banking on in its latest promotion. Business customers who purchase two PlayBooks through a designated reseller get a bonus one for free. In addition, they get their choice of accessories for each tablet.

It’s the latest in a line of promotions offered by RIM and its retailer partners as it attempts to spruce up sales of its PlayBook tablet. After a bungled launch and a tepid response to the product, RIM is working aggressively to move the devices off the shelves.

The latest promotion, of course, isn’t directed at consumers, but at the business customers that make up the most loyal part of its base. Companies can take advantage of this promotion to outfit their staff with PlayBooks, which are ideal for sales staff, field technicians, or any employee who works remotely. The offer represents a discount of a third off of any bulk order of PlayBooks.

Retailers have already begun offering discounts to consumers, bringing the price down to as low as $299 through a combination of in-store discounts and rebates.

RIM badly needs to see a wider adoption of its PlayBook tablet. It’s the first product to use its next-generation platform, previously called QNX but recently re-dubbed BBX after adding in elements of the old BlackBerry operating system. The first smartphones to run on BBX are expected to hit the market next year.

The PlayBook has suffered through its share of struggles. Most recently, RIM said on Wednesday that the 2.0 upgrade for the PlayBook would be pushed back to February. The upgrade was expected to bring core services such as e-mail, calender and BlackBerry Messenger to the device, which previously needed to be linked to a BlackBerry to run. It was one of the major criticisms of the tablet when it first launched.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20127279-94/rim-promo-buy-two-playbooks-get-one-free/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver

Google TV: Second time’s the charm?

…On Friday, Google finally revealed its plans for Google TV in detail. It’s releasing a major upgrade that will show up on Google TV-equipped Sony TVs next week, and on the Revue shortly thereafter.

Judging from Google’s blog post about the update, it’s less about packing in more features–Google TV had plenty of those already–and more about trying to crystallize the basic idea into something a little more refined and coherent. The new version will have what Google says is a simpler interface; it’ll play up YouTube more; it’s designed to make it easier to find TV shows and movies in both streaming and over-the-air form; and it has a version of the Android Market that will start out with about 50 apps.

The first version of Google TV arrived at a time when a lot of people were all worked up about the notion of cord-cutting: Cancelling cable service and relying entirely on Internet streaming for TV. It also seemed to compete directly with the second-generation Apple TV, which arrived at about the same time and which clearly had ambitions to enable its owners to cut the cord.

But Google TV wasn’t ever really about cord-cutting. Actually, one of the most audacious things about it was its search feature, which tried to replace the classic cable-TV programming grid with a search engine that let you Google all the shows on all the channels you were paying for. (The first pass at this feature didn’t work all that well, but I still admired the concept.)

With its comments so far on the new update, Google is working harder than it did the first time to explain what Google TV is and isn’t–and that it’s not about cord cutting. For one thing, it makes the fact that major content providers continue to block their shows from reaching Google TV less catastrophic. For another, it lets the company devote more effort to Google TV’s YouTube feature, which won’t replace cable anytime soon but has plenty of potential to be a nifty supplement to it, especially as it adds more professional content.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-33200_3-20127395-290/google-tv-second-times-the-charm/?tag=mncol;topStories

Steve Martin to Turn Tweets Into Book

Steve Martin’s not going to let his one-liners on Twitter go to waste. Instead, he’s going to recycle them for a for-charity book.

The actor/comedian announced the move on his Twitter feed on Thursday:

The title of the book: “The Ten, Make that Nine, Habits of Very Organized People. Make that Ten.” Grand Central Publishing, a unit of Hachette Book Group, will publish the book in 2012.

Martin joined Twitter in September 2010 and now has close to 1.8 million followers. Martin’s not the first to recycle tweets into a book. The forerunner for Twit Lit was Justin Halpern, who got a book deal and a short-lived TV show based on his Shit My Dad Says Twitter feed.

Some recent Martin tweets:

“Dinosaurs did not walk with humans. The evolutionary record says different. They gamboled.”
“Got the new iPhone and it keeps saying, ‘you’re a creep.’”
“I’m for the Wall Street Occupiers. But will they accept me when they find out I sell packaged mortgage default instruments to children?”
“I’m tired of wasting letters when punctuation will do, period”
“I got a flue shot and now my chimney works perfectly.”

http://mashable.com/2011/10/28/steve-martin-tweets-into-book/

Top 7 Scary Video Games to Play This Halloween

1. Resident Evil
2. Dead Space
3. System Shock 2
4. Silent Hill 2
5. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
6. Doom 3
7. Fatal Frame III

http://mashable.com/2011/10/29/scary-video-games/#view_as_one_page-gallery_box2881

Top 5 Scariest Movies of all time

5) Silence of the Lambs
4) Alien
3) Jaws
2) Psycho
1) The Exorcist

Notable mentions: 13 Ghosts, Dead Alive & Dog Soldiers

Death Valley MTV

Audience Reactions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsA3nxzgK-M

http://movies.ign.com/articles/662/662450p5.html

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Pandora subscription expired, haven’t re-upped yet. Seeing how much I still use the features of their ‘One’ service.
Made some custom tones for my iPhone so I can finally have fun text tones. FINALLY after 4 years! No clue why Apple left this feature off iOS.

Gozer: Matty Collector Ghost Trap

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The Geek’s Choice: Paranormal Activity 3 review

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Featured Segment: NBA 2K12

Initial Impressions: Intro Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, Jerry West and Alonzo Mourning

Setup your NBA2K Account: Connect to Twitter, Facebook & Youtube. Upload images, vids and game info. You have 24 hours to confim your account through your email. You will not be able to play online until you do this.

Gameplay options: 1) Quickgame mode 2) Season mode: # of user controlled players, set the season length, options for team chemistry, player roles ( morale) , player fatigue ( on a game to game basis) trade deadlines and trade overides ( cpu players can be forced to trade against their will) 3) NBA’s Greatest mode 4) My player mode: brings you right into a rookie game

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Feedback & Items of Note: NBA 2K12 Giveaway

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #288 – Custom iOS Text Tones

geekcast — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:00:51 +0000

News:

Netflix to expand to U.K., Ireland in early 2012

Netflix is planning to expand the availability of its streaming service to the U.K. and Ireland in early 2012, the company announced today.

Consumers who access Netflix will be able to stream both movies and television shows from the service, though the company has stopped short of providing information on its library. Netflix has also not commented on which devices will support its streaming service in those countries, but it did assure customers that it will be available on computers, mobile devices, and products that connect to their televisions.

Netflix’s plans to expand to the U.K. and Ireland are part of a broader growth strategy for the company. Last year, Netflix brought its then-U.S.-only service to Canada. In September, it expanded to 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Expanding to Europe is arguably the most important move Netflix has made yet. By bringing its streaming service to the U.K. and Ireland, Netflix will be competing squarely against Lovefilm, a company that provides both streaming and rentals of movies and video games. At last count, Lovefilm has 1.7 million customers across the U.K., Germany, Sweden, and elsewhere in Europe.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20124565-17/netflix-to-expand-to-u.k-ireland-in-early-2012/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver

Sony’s newest portable, the PS Vita, will ship on February 22 in the US

Sony announced the price of the PS Vita at this year’s E3, and the starting point of $250 was much lower than many of us expected. Now the system’s release date has been confirmed for the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe: you will be able to get your hands on the system starting on February 22. Start saving!

“Our first-party studios and army of publishing partners have been extremely hard at work to ensure that PS Vita launches with a vast library of titles that deliver unique gameplay experiences that go beyond any handheld or mobile device on the market,” Sony CEO Jack Tretton wrote on the PlayStation Blog. “We have more than 100 games currently in development globally that span many different genres, including Sound Shapes, Resistance: Burning Skies, Uncharted Golden Abyss, Capcom’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, EA Sports’ FIFA, Activision’s Call of Duty, and numerous others that you’ll hear about in the months ahead.”

The system will cost $250 for the standard hardware with WiFi connectivity, or $300 for a unit that includes 3G service from AT&T.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/10/sonys-newest-portable-the-ps-vita-will-ship-on-february-22-in-the-us.ars

Microsoft signs Compal deal, now takes money from half of all Android ODMs

Despite Steve Ballmer’s apparent disdain for the Googly OS, he must love it really. He’s now making money from ten separate Android and Chrome licensing deals, having just inked yet another agreement with Compal — a large Taiwanese original design manufacturer (ODM) that builds tablets and smartphones for brands like Lenovo. From this point on, a “reasonable and fair” chunk of Compal’s $28 billion annual income will be diverted to the coffers at Redmond. Overall, this means that Microsoft’s tentacles have spread across 55 percent of the Android ODM industry and — more importantly — are poked firmly into two different mobile OS pies. As cut-throat as this approach might seem, however, it’s surely better than freezing the market with cold and ceaseless waves of litigation.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/24/microsoft-signs-compal-deal-now-takes-money-from-half-of-all-an/

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich now official, includes revamped design, enhancements galore

Google has taken the stage in Hong Kong to make the next version of Android OS, nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich, a thing of reality. Better known as Android 4.0, the update offers a massive redesign to the user interface and adds a plethora of new features. Some of the highlights include an NFC-enabled feature called Android Beam, offline search in Gmail, new lock screen features and a fancy unlocking method called “Face Unlock,” which uses facial recognition to ensure strangers can’t use your phone without permission. Ice Cream Sandwich also includes enhancements in almost every native app within Android itself. The SDK is already available for Android 4.0, and the update itself will make its first public appearance on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Here’s some of the enhancements found in Ice Cream Sandwich:

Option to use virtual buttons in the UI, instead of taking up capacitive touch buttons
Widgets are in a new tab, listed in a similar list to apps
Folders are much easier to create, with a drag-and-drop style similar to iOS
A customizable launcher
New phone app with visual voicemail functionality that lets you speed up or slow down voicemail messages
Pinch-to-zoom functionality in the calendar
Gmail has offline search, a two-line preview, and new action bar at the bottom
Swipe left or right to switch between Gmail conversations
Integrated screenshot capture by holding power and volume down buttons
Improved error correction on the keyboard
Ability to access apps directly from lock screen (similar to HTC Sense 3.x)
Improved copy and paste
Better voice integration
Face Unlock, a facial recognition service
New tabbed web browser, allowing up to 16 tabs
Browser now automatically syncs your Chrome bookmarks
Modern “Roboto” font
Data Usage section in settings lets you set warnings when you reach a certain amount of use and disabling data when you go over your limit
Ability to kill off apps that are using data in the background
Camera app: zero shutter lag, time lapse settings, zoom while recording
Built-in photo editor
New gallery layout, organized by location and person
Refreshed people app with social network integration, status updates and hi-res images
Android Beam, a NFC feature that lets you exchange websites, contact info, directions, YouTube, etc.
Don’t like some of those preloaded carrier apps? Disable ‘em. Android Engineer Dan Morrill mentions that, among other new features, any app can be disabled, and while it will still take up space in ROM, it won’t be snatching any of your precious resources or clock cycles again if you don’t want it to.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/18/android-4-0-ice-cream-sandwich-now-official/

Apple Refreshes MacBook Pro Lineup
Apple has refreshed its MacBook Pro lineup with new processors and graphics chips Monday without changing any of the prices.

The biggest change is in the CPU department: the 13-inch version of the MacBook Pro now comes with either a 2.4 GHz Core i5 or a 2.8 GHZ Core i7 CPU, both dual-core.

The 15-inch version can now be had with either a quad-core, 2.2 GHz i7 or a 2.4 GHz i7 CPU, while the 17-inch version starts only with the latter processor. Both can optionally be configured with a quad-core, 2.5 GHz processor as well.

Also, the 15- and 17-inch variants of the MacBook Pro can now be configured with an AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics chip.

http://mashable.com/2011/10/24/apple-macbook-pro-refresh/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Loving Siri on the iPhone, not loving Sprint’s data speeds.

Picked up the new Steve Jobs book on Audible. Only have 5-hours left on Game of Thrones, it’s getting exciting!

Bought Scribblenauts for iPhone.

Gozer: Batman Arkham City

iPhone 4S….. yes, still.

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The Geek’s Choice: This segment will return on the next episode.

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Featured Segment: Custom text tones & ringtones on your iOS device

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Feedback & Items of Note: There are currently no items of note.

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #287- NY ComicCon 2011 & iPhone 4S Review

geekcast — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:00:55 +0000

Today we cover NY ComicCon from the Javits Center and we also have a hands-on review of the iPhone 4S
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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #286 – Remembering Steve Jobs

geekcast — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:51:16 +0000

News:

The Life of Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011

Three Acts:

Apple in the 80′s
Next / Pixar in the 90′s
Return to Apple and saves it, the “iEra”.

Milestones:

Apple //
The mouse
The Mac, GUI interface, “a computer for the rest of us”
The Next workstation, first computer that was a web server
Pixar
iMac, the first widely successful all-in-one computer
iPod
iTunes Music Store, saving the music industry from piracy by providing a real alternative
MacBook Air – One of the best introductions of a computer (interoffice envelope)
iPhone – Hands-down the best Apple keynote ever. I still watch it every now and then. The excitement was palpable.
iPod Touch – A natural progression from the iPhone.
iPad – Everyone laughed, everyone bought it.

Not-so-milestones:

The Lisa
Apple ///
‘puck’ mouse on the iMac
OS X 10.0
G4 cube
MobileMe
iPhone 4 antenna – “Antennagate”
iTunes Ping

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Geek This Week:

Aaron:

Gozer:

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The Geek’s Choice: iPhone 4S pre-order experience and specs

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Featured Segment:

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Feedback & Items of Note:

NY Comic Con 2011 @Javits Center this Saturday 10/15/11

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #285 – Adonit Jot Review

geekcast — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:40:08 +0000

News:

Netflix DVD mailing service to split off and become Qwikster

Netflix recently restructured its pricing model, splitting its DVD rental and Internet streaming services into separate plans. The controversial move, which effectively raised the monthly fee for Netflix subscribers who use both services, has not been well received by the company’s customers.
The price hike was apparently just the first step of a more sweeping overhaul. In a blog entry that was published on Sunday night, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced that the DVD rental service will be spun off into a separate unit, where it will operate independently under a new brand name: Qwikster.

According to Hastings, DVD mailing and Internet streaming require different approaches to business that are increasingly difficult for Netflix to reconcile. He believes that independence will make it easier to accommodate the unique requirements of each service. The split will ensure that DVD rentals are still available to consumers while the company focuses on moving forward its streaming business.
“We feel we need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolve, without having to maintain compatibility with our DVD by mail service,” he wrote. “So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are becoming two quite different businesses, with very different cost structures, different benefits that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.”

In the blog post, he explained that the recent alterations to the pricing model were intended to be part of this broader change in Netflix service segmentation. He also expressed regret for the lack of communication surrounding the price changes and apologized for failing to articulate the scope of the transition up front.
“When Netflix is evolving rapidly, however, I need to be extra-communicative. This is the key thing I got wrong. In hindsight, I slid into arrogance based upon past success,” he wrote. “But now I see that given the huge changes we have been recently making, I should have personally given a full justification to our members of why we are separating DVD and streaming, and charging for both. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.”

The rapid growth of the streaming service and its swift transition from value-add to core business obviously call for some restructuring at Netflix, but it’s unclear if the company’s new roadmap is the right way forward. Some of the technical changes that are going to occur as the company splits off the DVD mailing business don’t look very appealing.

The Qwikster service will have its own independent website where users will have to go to manage their queues. After the transition, it will no longer be possible for users to manage their DVD and Instant queues through a unified interface. Although current Netflix subscriber data will reportedly be replicated over to Qwikster at launch, users will essentially have separate profiles at each website.
Hastings said that new customers will have to sign up and input their credit card information separately at Netflix and Qwikster. Movie ratings and reviews submitted by users will not propagate across both sites. When users search at Netflix for a movie that’s not available for streaming, they won’t be offered the DVD version. These baffling changes will erode much of the convenience and synergy that made Netflix appealing to the company’s most loyal customers.

The one bit of silver lining in the bizarre Qwikster announcement is that the service will soon gain an upgrade option for video game rentals—a much-requested feature. Although the move to split the services into separate businesses might make sense on some level, the decision to dismantle the long-standing integration between the services seems highly dubious. Consumers will have to tolerate a reduction in functionality on top of the unpopular price increase.

Amid these problems, Netflix continues to struggle with broadband caps and the challenges of negotiating content licenses. The company recently suffered a blow to its streaming content inventory because Starz decided not to renew its contract with Netflix.

Netflix predicts that it will lose approximately a million subscribers due to the changes—roughly four percent of the company’s customer base. The lack of credible alternatives has worked in the company’s favor

http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2011/09/netflix-dvd-mailing-service-to-split-off-and-become-qwikster.ars

Sony executive: Vita will offer better firmware update experience than PS3

The PlayStation 3 has never been the most user-friendly system. The hardware requires mandatory installations of many games, frequent firmware updates, and features a user interface that often has you staring at a black screen while all installations and updates are taking place. Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment’s worldwide studios, addressed these issues in a recent interview, and claimed that the PlayStation Vita would provide a more pleasant gaming experience.

When asked about the firmware updates, the executive admitted it was an issue that needed to be fixed in the PlayStation Vita. “I agree, it’s very annoying when you only have one hour in your busy life to play a game, and when you have to spend 30 minutes out of that one hour to update the hardware,” Yoshida told Game Informer. “So it’s not necessarily the frequency of how we update, it’s like you said—intrusiveness—of the current processes that we have on PS3 and PSP.”
He declined to comment on specifics, but he did say the company is well aware of the issue and has plans to address it.

It’s interesting that Yoshida doesn’t think the frequency of updates is the problem, as he’s only discussing how they are applied to the hardware. The good news is Sony’s awareness of its own usability problems: the PSP Go was a nightmare to use, and the PlayStation 3 often requires a lengthy warm-up period of updates and installations before you can play a recently purchased game. That’s a problem on a console, but it could be death for a portable.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/sony-executive-vita-will-offer-better-firmware-update-experience-than-ps3.ars

Google opens its social network to all

Google+, the search giant’s bid to boost its relevance in the socially networked world of the Web, is now open to the masses

Google had required invitations to the service since its debut as a “project” in June. But this morning, Google opened the doors of Google+ to all. Google+ has also graduated to being a “beta” product.

“We’re nowhere near done, but with the improvements we’ve made so far, we’re ready to move from field trial to beta, and introduce our 100th feature: open sign-ups,” Google Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra wrote in a blog post. “This way, anyone can visit Google.com/+, join the project, and connect with the people they care about.”

Lifting the sign-up restriction comes just two days before Facebook’s F8 conference. There, Facebook, the service that caught Google flat-footed and led to the creation of Google+, is expected to introduce a number of new features, potentially including a new music service that would help turn Facebook into more of a media platform. Some reports suggest that Facebook might even unveil a major site redesign.

In addition to opening up Google+ to all, Google is rolling out a host of new features to Hangouts, the videoconferencing service in Google+. Since its debut, the Hangout feature was limited to Google+ users on a PC, even though the social network was available as an application for devices running its Android mobile operating system as well as Apple’s iOS.

Google is now making Hangouts available to mobile devices running Android version 2.3 and later that have front-facing cameras. And it says it will add mobile Hangouts to iOS devices “soon.”

Google is also turning Hangouts into a broadcast medium. From launch, Google limited the number of participants in a Hangout to 10. The company is now letting “a limited number of broadcasters,” likely those with the biggest Google+ followings, set up Hangouts On Air. The new feature still limits the number of participants to 10. But anyone can tune into a broadcast. The company is kicking off the service tomorrow night with a Hangout On Air featuring Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am.

And Google is giving users the ability to share their computer screens with others during Hangouts as well. Previously, users could watch a YouTube video together. Now they can share computer screens to show off vacation photos, plan trips, collaborate on documents, or even scribble together with a new Sketchpad feature. And, as is Google’s way with beta products, the company says it’s testing the various features, which it expects to change over time.

“The extras are still under construction, but we wanted to preview these features and get your feedback sooner versus later,” Gundotra wrote.

The company has also created application programming interfaces to let third-party software developers create their own applications that take advantage of Hangouts.

Google has also added search to Google+, a feature that had been surprisingly absent from the search giant’s service until now. Users can type queries into the Google+ search box and get results from people and posts from the service, as well as content from around the Web.

Google also seems to recognize that users want to tap into their social network on the go. In addition to participating in mobile Hangouts, Google+ users can now post to updates and comments, receive notifications, and respond to group messages using text messages, according to a separate blog post from Punit Soni, Google+ Mobile product manager. And iPhone users can show approval for a comment with Google’s +1 feature, akin to a Facebook’s like feature. Google says that using +1 from Android devices will be available soon.

Google is also renaming its Huddle mobile group messaging feature to Messenger. With the new name comes a new feature: photo sharing. Users can now snap a picture with their mobile phone and share it with their circle of friends instantaneously.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20108879-93/google-opens-its-social-network-to-all/#ixzz1YWwqG4Th

Final Cut Pro X update adds “top feature requests”

Apple will release a major update to Final Cut Pro X, as well as a demo version that new customers can download and try out today. This update address the top user requests, according to Apple’s senior director applications marketing, Richard Townhill.

In an interview with The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple, Townhill noted that Apple has listened to requests from the application’s professional users. “We listened to the pros and have taken their top feature requests and put them in this update.”

New features include Xsan support, which will allow users to share files on the SAN across projects. Additionally, Rich XML import and export will bring third-party workflows into your project.

There’s more, of course, including a new, 30-day free trial demo that will let users try before they buy. That’s important as Final Cut Pro X customers depend on certain functionality and compatibility. An update that unexpectedly breaks a workflow is a real problem.

You’ll remember that not all customers were happy with the release of Final Cut Pro X. Again, Richard Townhill says that Apple is listening. “We have very vocal customers and they told us what they think was missing. What we’re doing today is answering those concerns.”

Note that Final Cut Pro X requires a Mac with OS X 10.6.8 or later, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better, 2GB of RAM (4GB of RAM recommended), and an OpenCL-capable graphics card or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later. You’ll find full system requirements here.

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/09/20/final-cut-pro-x-update-adds-top-feature-requests/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Starting to clean out my TiVo from the massive amounts of shows I want to watch but haven’t had time to. Chuck, Medium, True Blood, Game of Thrones. Combined, I have over 40 hours of TV to get through.

Autographing eBooks. Really innovative way to do this and I will have a full how-to on my personal blog coming soon.

Gozer: Spartacus Gods of the Arena Dead Island & Resistance 3. Kinect! Gunstringer & Fruit Ninja
Tekken 6 X2 Arcade Sticks + game for $50 Amazon Lightning Deals
Gears 3!

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The Geek’s Choice: Adonit Jot Pro Touchscreen Stylus

http://adonit.net/product/7

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/531383637/jot-capacitive-touch-stylus

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Featured Segment:

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Hey guys,

I heard you talk about crappy underpowered smartphones in the last show, and I’m interested in maybe buying a cheap android phone, but I don’t want to end up getting one of those underpowered phones.
I was looking at the Sony Xperia X8, and I’d like to find out if this is the right phone for me.
I generally use my phone for the organiser functions (calendar, alarm clock, etc.), and for social networking and google search, so no really heavy data/internet-stuff.
Since this phone has android, I’d probably use it for a few games, like Angry Birds and Plants VS Zombies, but that’s not really necessary.
Do you think getting this phone is good for me?

Regards,
Arne Gevaert

Hey Guys!

Hope all is well! Just listening to smashing pumpkins and wondered was your favorite song?

Also just started playing Deus Ex it’s awesome great story good fun can’t recommend it enough!

Love the show and keep up the good work!

Barry
Cork, Ireland

Hey Guys,

Writing to let you know I ALSO got the Game of Thrones audiobook. I’m a decent reader, but with the way my life is, an hour and a half commute each way – it just sort of fit better. Plus I REALLY wanted to digest the book in a hurry. I had watched the first 7 episodes of GOT blind, then got the audiobook and stopped watching the series (was present on my non-Tivo MythTV). I finished the book and was very very satisfied with my time spent! Then I went and finished up episodes 8 through 10.

Honestly, watch the show first, THEN read (listen). I found myself a bit bored with 8-10 only because I had spoiled myself! I knew what was gonna happen! It sort of made me not want to watch, and I found myself not paying that much attention. However when I did 1-7 watching first was excellent! I could put a face on someone and it made it a little easier to understand who was where doing what. I never got that feeling that I didn’t want to read(listen) to this, instead I really wanted to hear how the story played out in the book.

One of the reasons I jumped up and got the book was because of how ridiculously complex and interweaved all the characters and their relationships are. I thought the book would help understanding what the heck was going on, and it did for the most part. However as I know you folks are all TV buffs don’t ruin anything for yourselves! You will recall what happened on the show and you’ll pick up where HBO and Mr. Maarten sort of forked and came together and where little changes were made.

I also picked up the second book Clash of Kings, but I’ve only listened to about 5 chapters now, and I’m shelving it till the next series comes out.

I thoroughly enjoyed the series, you will too however you choose to digest it!

I hope you don’t mind violence, there is an absolute TON of it. Beheadings, horse murder, knights, jousting….Oh and scandal. There is a lot of scandal.

Best Regards,

bobdole369
Robert

Hey Guys,

I just caught up with the last few podcasts (GOT has been monopolizing my podcast time) so I wanted to comment on what you were saying regarding cable and unplugging.

It isn’t a fad, it isn’t something that only a couple people are doing. I did it. I know about a half dozen people who had cable TV last year, and this year they do not. It isn’t really a hipster movement or anything grassroots either. It comes down to spending your money wisely, and a shift in the entertainment centers of the American household away from the living room or bedroom TV, over to the Internet and its experience. With social media we are actually talking more to friends online than ever, and much less in person or on the phone. Nobody talks on the phone anymore. Nobody. Its only a tool to call a service company or to let someone know we are otw or to find someone if they aren’t online. Then we get online or get together in person. This is the way of the future.

My wife and I went through the TiVOHD last year and realized that about 85% of the shows that we *Actually* watched were on network TV. The rest is filler. Its great to have 14 episodes of spongebob but we found we weren’t really watching it. Ice Road Truckers? Well you can watch that online. Or BT it. Those shows that weren’t available legally (websites, Hulu, netflix and whatnot) we will get the content illegitimately (BT, newsgroups or whatever).

Our best friends did pretty much the same thing over the holidays last year (when we were considering it) they dropped to wabbit ears TV and the cheapest comcast internet. They used to watch TV a lot but times are tough, and they are a-changing. They spend more time together and on the Internet. I know a few other folks who did the same. It probably isn’t going to stop.

I even WORK for a content provider (a cable company in the Carribean) and we have what the USA will probably never have! Pick and choose channels! Only pay for those channels! Until cable TV is like that in the USA I certainly won’t be paying for it. Definitely not $65/month worth. I think that its going to take a seachange in the way they do business (they’ll lose a ton of business before they see the light.) Same goes for the companies putting data caps up. Do you think we do data caps outside the USA? (BTW I’m in Florida) – NO WAY! We give 100mb/10mb with no caps and a lot of people use it all day. It isn’t a matter of congestion, the companies in the USA are just maximizing their dollars.

So our Comcast bill with Internet and TV was over $130/month. That was digital only, nothing premium, 6mb/1mb internet.

We recently got Uverse in our area so signed up for the 24mb/3mb package, which is $65/month. And cancelled Comcast completely.

So we cut the Cable TV out completely. So what to do. I used my TiVOHD for a while, but man it was hard justifying that $13/month for rabbit ears TV. It took about 3 months and I realized that I had all the hardware needed to make a kickass DVR myself! So we cancelled TiVO too.

I first tried MediaPortal but it kept crashing and wouldn’t record when I told it to. It was like using a Comcast DVR. It just sucked. It was based on Windows, where a lot of problems seem to originate.

I ended up with a 2 tuner (2x Hauppauge (1 of them a 1600, another an 1800, essentially hybrid tuners with one ATSC tuner each)) MythTV setup. I used Ubuntu (actually Mythbuntu its called) as my base, and it does roughly 80% of what TiVO did. No wishlist searches, and I gotta check if its gonna actually record the show sometimes (its interface for recording is fairly wordy and you gotta look and see what priority things are, etc) In short its a little harder, but it does practically the same thing as TiVO did as far as recording.

1 thing I didn’t count on – YOU STILL NEED TO PAY FOR GUIDE DATA! They “say” you can get it over the air, but it sucks bad. It’s often wrong, often missing, sometimes only goes out a few hours. They say you can scrape websites using scripts but man that is way too much work. SchedulesDirect is $5 for 2 months or $20 for a year. Well worth it – its perfect.

A lot of the TiVO stuff is old hat. The Netflix SUCKS on the TiVO. Amazon movie rentals? Who cares? Picasa album searches? Barely worked and also – who cares? Live365? Meh. Podcasts (Its actually what got me into the podcast world, and introduced me to revision 3, all those awesome indy style podcasts). I can do the same for my mythtv. I just have to feed it the RSS feed.

My mythtv auto commercial skips. It works well. It also automatically pulls commercials and if I want it to I can save the full .mpg without commercials out on the network for archiving.

So what is the pull for a TiVO anymore? Is it really just the UI? I agree its slick and it works, but they gotta get with the times man.

Best Regards,

Robert

Hi guys,
I’m planning to buy a macbook pro, but I don’t know if I should buy it now, or wait until the next update.
Do you know when (approximately) a new update is coming out, or how frequently these macbooks update?
By the way, about the smartphone thing, I’ve figured out the Xperia X8 is underpowered indeed, and I just bought a normal cellphone, since I don’t really need a smartphone.

Love your show,
Arne

Hey Guys!

Just read a story there on BBC news. Sony are asking users of the Playstation network to waive there rights to collectively sue them over potential future security breaches or face being banned from the network. I know they have amended their terms and conditions but is this not against consumer rights?

Also read the first chapter of your book. Really like the idea can’t wait to get the book and future books!

All the best and love the show

Barry
- Cork, Ireland

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #284 – HP Touchpad Review

geekcast — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:00:54 +0000

News:

Netflix launches streaming service in Latin America

Netflix announced today that it had launched its movie-streaming service outside of North America.

The service launched in Brazil today and is expected to be made available in 43 countries in Latin America, Mexico, and the Caribbean over the next week, Netflix said in a blog posting. The company said it has spent the past couple of months studying how Latin Americans think about movies and TV shows, as well as testing its delivery method.

“We’ve been testing and figuring out the right Internet architecture to make sure the quality and speed of the Netflix streaming experience is the best it can be,” Rochelle King, Netflix VP of user experience and design, wrote in a company blog.

Subscribers will be able to access Netflix in Spanish, Portuguese, or English. Netflix said the streaming offering in Latin America and the Caribbean will work the same way it does in the United States. Customers will pay a monthly fee for unlimited access to the company’s streaming-video library.

Netflix subscribers will be able to access content on computers, Wii and PS3 game consoles, and smart TVs. However, it doesn’t appear the program will include access to physical media.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20101731-93/netflix-launches-streaming-service-in-latin-america/#ixzz1XBbhgLu1

iPhone 5 launch date: Battle of the Best Buy leaks

Depending on which of today’s Best Buy-related iPhone 5 reports you want to give the most credence to, the highly anticipated gadget could launch during the first week of October, or a bit later, on October 21.

Boy Genius Report’s Jonathan Geller says a tipster handed the blog a leaked Best Buy document labeled “Promotional activity” and carrying a subheading of “Week 9/4.”

The document, real or otherwise, says, “iPhone 5 product introduction expected, pre-sales begin for expected week 1 launch / Sprint launches iPhone 5.” It also says “(Apple product information/Launch dates subject to change).”

On the other hand, This Is My Next’s Chris Ziegler reports that TIMN received a tip about a mysterious “Apple fixture” that’s scheduled to be installed at an unnamed Best Buy location October 21. The site displays a screenshot that shows what may or may not be an authentic online Best Buy “National Retail Calendar.”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20101545-37/iphone-5-launch-date-battle-of-the-best-buy-leaks/#ixzz1XBc3BHlj

Google+ Power Users Reject Suggested Users List

You might expect social media superstars to be giving virtual high fives and tweeting with delight at the idea of a suggested users list on Google+. It’s a way to be surfaced for new users, meaning more followers, and that’s a good thing, right?

Wrong — for some.

Since Google released the list late last week, web personalities have been speaking out against it. Tech blogger and commentator Robert Scoble even asked to be removed from it, citing 13 reasons the move made sense for him.

“I totally understand why Google did this list,” Scoble said. “It just isn’t a well curated list and so I don’t want my name associated with it.”

Scoble pointed out that Paris Hilton made the list, further fortifying his reasoning. However, Google+ VP of Product Bradley Horowitz said deeper personalization functionality is on its way. For now, it lets users in different regions and languages get different recommendations — but the goal is for it to become more topic based.

Elisa Camahort Page, co-founder of BlogHer, admits that lists are useful for the technorati. For average users, it makes less sense.

http://mashable.com/2011/09/05/google-suggested-user-list/

Amazon’s 7-Eleven lockers are very real, very gray, slated for Friday activation

After an arduous expedition that must’ve lasted hours, an intrepid frontiersman in the Seattle area has finally unearthed the Holy Grail of convenience store cubbies — Amazon’s elusive delivery locker, at 7-Eleven. GeekWire’s John Cook discovered the prototype lockers at a 7-Eleven in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, where store clerks told him that the system wouldn’t be activated until Friday.

According to Cook’s description, the setup consists of about 40 different sized containers, centered around a keypad and monitor (neither of which was illuminated during his visit). All told, the array of P.O. Box-style cabinets stands about seven feet tall and is completely devoid of Amazon branding. The in-store pick-up program may roll out of a nationwide basis next summer, but you can check out a photographic sneak preview at the source link, below.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/06/amazons-7-eleven-lockers-are-very-real-very-gray/

LG’s ‘Dual Play’ TVs let gamers share a single screen, different perspective

Challenging Sony’s PlayStation 3D display, LG’s new LW980T “Dual Play” TV lets Xbox users see two different views on the same screen — ditching the standard split gaming view. Spotted this week at IFA, the technology requires a pair of snazzy all-right / all-left passive specs and a compatible 3D Xbox game to get two different 2D perspectives on one TV.

Compared to Sony’s $499, 24-inch active-shutter offering, the 47-inch and 55-inch passive ‘tubes are significantly larger and more expensive, rumored to retail for £1799 (or $2915) and £2499 (or $4050), respectively. According to sources, this feature will join LG’s lineup of Cinema 3D displays sometime in September — offering gaming as well as LG’s SmartTV and 3D movie support.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/04/lgs-dual-play-tvs-let-gamers-share-a-single-screen-different/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: My book! As Darkness Ends. http://www.AaronCrocco.com/darkness

Gozer: MK Arcade Collection. Frustration with tech: Lion & My LG ally sucks.

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The Geek’s Choice: Gozer’s Best Buy Shhtuff

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Featured Segment: HP Touchpad Review

http://www.hp.com/united-states/webos/us/en/shopping-touchpad.html

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Feedback & Items of Note: There are currently no items of note.

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We’re featuring listener submissions and topics for news! Head on over to http://goo.gl/mod/Xd1i or click the ‘Submit a Story’ button on the website to see what we’ll be talking about on the show, vote on those topics and even submit your own! Come check it out.

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #283 – Remove All Apps From Launchpad

geekcast — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:27:41 +0000

News:

Steve Jobs Resigns As CEO Of Apple

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

– Steve

Update: Apple has confirmed that Apple COO Tim Cook will replace Jobs as CEO, following Jobs’ own recommendation. Considering that Cook has filled in for Jobs in the times of his medical leaves (including the one he has been on this year), this has been widely expected if and when it came time for Jobs to step down.

Also as requested, Jobs has been elected as Chairman of the Board and will remain with the company in that capacity. Cook will join the Board as well.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/24/steve-jobs-resigns-from-apple/

GameStop apologizes to Deus Ex PC customers

GameStop really doesn’t like all this “lawsuit” talk that’s been buzzing around since they were caught with their hand in the cookie jar, ripping OnLive codes out of sealed copies of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for the PC. Now, in an email sent out to customers by GameStop CEO Paul Raines, they’re offering an olive branch to those affected. Customers who bought the PC game before the store decided to stop selling them altogether are eligible to receive a $50 GameStop gift card and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free coupon on used games. Considering GameStop’s history of completely ignoring customer outcry, offering a $50 gift card is sort of a big deal. Usually they just offer to show you the door, and ask if you want to pre-order Madden.

If you purchased the PC version from GameStop, all you need to do is take the email and your receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com to a retail store. Once there (after being hassled to reserve every game coming out from now until 2014 and talked down to by a 17-year-old), you’ll get some free money, effectively refunding the entire cost of Deus Ex: Human Revolution on PC, so we guess it’s worth it. We doubt anyone was that excited for the OnLive code.

Honestly, it’s tough to blame GameStop for this entirely. No matter which way you slice it, Square-Enix did package a competitor’s coupon in a game without telling them. That’s a thing they did. While gutting the games and tearing out the offer wasn’t the most tasteful way to handle the situation, neither was sneaking in an OnLive code without mentioning it. Seriously, how did they think GameStop would react when they saw that? The email is below—what do you think? Water under the bridge?

“Dear GameStop customer,

Earlier this week, GameStop removed a competitor’s coupon from standard edition PC versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a recent release by Square Enix. We were not aware that the product box would contain this competitor’s offer. We regret the events surrounding this title release and that our customers were put in the middle of this issue between GameStop and Square Enix, the publisher of this game. And for this, we are truly sorry.

For your inconvenience, we would like to offer you a free $50 GameStop gift card and a Buy 2 Get 1 Free pre-owned purchase. We want to earn back your trust and confidence in the GameStop experience. Please bring in this email and your store receipt or order confirmation from GameStop.com and present it to a Game Advisor.

Sincerely,
Paul Raines
CEO, GameStop”
Aug 28, 2011

http://www.gamesradar.com/gamestop-apologizes-deus-ex-pc-customers/

Netflix users, time to pick a plan

The big question in Web video this week is how many Netflix customers will stick with the service in the face of an upcoming price increase.

But even those planning to continue with the service might want to make some decisions before time runs out and the decisions are made by the company.

In July, Netflix announced it would eliminate a popular hybrid plan. For $10 a month, users were allowed to rent one DVD at a time as well as obtain unlimited Web access to the company’s streaming-video library. That’s scheduled to disappear on Thursday.

This is a reminder that if you’re a hybrid subscriber and do nothing by then, Netflix will assume you want both plans. That’s certainly logical but it may be something you didn’t think about. After Thursday, each plan will cost $7.99 per month, or $15.98 per month for both. If you want to go exclusively with one offer or the other, it’s time to get a move on.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20098921-261/netflix-users-time-to-pick-a-plan/#ixzz1WXOL3CjR

HP update to boost TouchPad ‘functionality’

Hewlett-Packard told CNET on Monday that it will deliver a future update to boost the TouchPad’s functionality. HP also said it has seen “huge spikes” in TouchPad activation in the wake of the decision to discount the tablet.

On August 19, HP slashed the price of the 16GB TouchPad to $100, setting off a buying frenzy at stores like Best Buy and online. HP’s action came after announcing the shuttering its WebOS device business. The TouchPad uses the WebOS operating system.

“We expect that HP TouchPad owners can look forward to an over-the-air update that will enhance the platform and add functionality and a growing applications catalog,” an HP spokesperson told CNET today in response to an e-mail query. HP would not elaborate on what those enhancements would be.

HP also said that it is seeing “huge spikes in activations and between 3-5X downloads of apps” as a result of the fire sale launched on August 19.

“HP is fully committed to the ongoing support and service of customers who purchased webOS devices…We plan to continue to investigate the best ways to leverage WebOS software and grow the applications,” the spokesperson said.

And HP continues to offer free apps. Today, it announced another “six pack” of free apps, including Angry Birds Rio HD and FlightPredictor HD.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20099049-64/hp-update-to-boost-touchpad-functionality/#ixzz1WXOmsPVP

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Geek This Week:

Aaron:

Started reading Game of Thrones on audio book.

Thundercats continues to impress. Every episode needs to be 1 hour!

HP touchpad!

Gozer: Final Cut Pro X: Converted all the old College movies.

Video: Imported from VHS using El Gato 16X9 widescreen. Color saturation & balancing. Exporting in 1080i.

Audio: created stereo tracks from mono, hum & backgorund noise reduction. voice enhancement.

COD BLOPS: Rezurrection Zombies Maps.

“In the Plex” by Steven Levy

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The Geek’s Choice: Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation

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Featured Segment: Clearing all apps from Launchpad

1) Load up terminal
2) Copy and paste the following:

sqlite3 ~/Library/Application Support/Dock/*.db “DELETE from apps;
DELETE from groups WHERE title<>”; DELETE from items WHERE rowid>2;”
&& killall Dock

3) Hit enter
4) Put the Launchpad icon in the Dock and simply drag and drop apps over the Launchpad icon

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Hey guys,

Regards,
Arne Gevaert

Hi. While listening to podcast #280 I heard you singing the praises of Google. I now present to you, for your consideration, the view from the other side of the aisle:

http://gawker.com/5830972/google-is-reborn-creepier-and-meaner

http://gizmodo.com/5833503/this-is-what-google-really-meant-by-dont-be-evil

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-do-i-hate-google-let-me-count-the-ways-2011-8

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-real-reason-everyone-hates-google-now-2011-8

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-ways-google-is-turning-into-microsoft-2010-12

http://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-now-officially-evil-2010-9

Response?

Wes from Grand Rapids

Hi Aaron and Gozer,

Rich from Chicago again. This time I have a song recommendation for everyone. Mike Phirman (of Hard and Phirm) just released a new song called “w00tstock”. It is a parody of “Woodstock” (the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young version), with lyrics about “w00tstock” and general geek/nerd culture. Nothing else to report other than the big HP shocker that it is dropping its PC and mobile divisions. Congratulations on the new little one, Gozer, and a belated congrats to you Aaron on the twins! Keep up the good podcasting!

Thanks,
Rich

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Sponsors:

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The Geekcast #282 – The Touchpad: Hottest Gadget EVER!!

geekcast — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:30:39 +0000

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20096286-94/sprint-iphone-may-portend-end-to-unlimited-plan/

http://mashable.com/2011/08/23/facebook-privacy-changes-guide/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20095594-64/hp-touchpad-best-seller-at-best-buy-amazon/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20095589-93/illegal-downloads-of-fox-tv-shows-rise-after-delay/

The Geekcast #281 – Abobo’s Big Adventure

geekcast — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:05:58 +0000

News:

Google acquiring Motorola Mobility

Happy Monday to you, and happy Monday to Motorola Mobility, which Google has announced is about to become its next acquisition. This comes hot on the heels of a $56 million Q2 net loss for Moto — and CEO Sanjay Jha’s less than subtle hints about going fishing for Android-related patent royalties. Now, at a price of $40 per share for a total of about $12.5 billion, Big G will be making Moto a “dedicated Android partner” to “supercharge the Android ecosystem” and “enhance competition in mobile computing.”
Larry Page had this to say about the deal:

Motorola Mobility’s total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers.

What happens next? While this will of course strengthen the ties between hardware and software, Google is pledging to continue offering Android as an open platform — Moto will license it and others will be able to as ever. Additionally, Google will continue to operate its new toy as a separate business and not morph it into an in-house hardware wing. But, one has to wonder what this means for companies like Samsung, which partnered closely with Google on the Nexus S, and of course HTC, which released the Nexus One and the iconic G1. And then there’s the big question: just where does Moto Blur fit into this equation?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/google-acquiring-motorola-mobility/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fengadget+(Engadget)

Google+ gets games, but game-haters don’t have to see them

Games are coming to Google+, bringing the new social network more in line than ever with Facebook. Google announced today the addition of games via e-mail to journalists and through a post on its blog, noting that it has already signed deals with a “select group of partners” to bring games like Angry Birds, Zombie Lane, Sudoku, Bejeweled Blitz, and more to the platform.

But if you’re the type who hates seeing Farmville updates in your friends’ Facebook feeds or you cannot stand to get another invitation to Mafia Wars, you’re in luck: Google says the games will be kept to a special area and “won’t clutter the streams of those who aren’t as enthusiastic.”

The games will be accessible via a “games” option at the top of your Google+ stream. When you go there, “[y]ou can see the latest game updates from your circles, browse the invites you’ve received and check out games that people you know have played recently,” as well as see your own accomplishments. If you want to share your high scores on your Google+ stream, only friends who have expressed interest in playing games as well will see the updates.

Games, however, are only the tip of the iceberg. Google also announced that it has launched yet another company blog (to join the 5,104,857 that already exist, of course) for developers who want to create Web apps for Google+. And those apps may not have to be games. “In today’s launch of games on Google+, you can now see the first of many types of integrations that we hope to help you build,” Engineering Director David Glazer wrote to developers.

Glazer went on to explain that Google plans to continue adding partners and features “in small steps,” starting with the games API—an indicator that other, non-game options will be available soon. Glazer didn’t give a specific time frame for when the doors would be opened to more than just the launch partners, and he said that Google is listening to feedback on the games API before it moves forward.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/games-open-the-door-to-other-apps-on-google.ars

Why is LTE equipment being installed in an Apple Store?

Well, this is certainly interesting. While rumors of an LTE-enabled iPhone had died down for a little while, they sprung back to life yesterday with a report that just such a device was being tested by carriers. Now we’ve received an image the image you see above, which shows some 4G LTE equipment that was recently installed in a major Apple store — by AT&T, according to our source. Making things somewhat more interesting is the equipment itself, one piece of which supports only the 700MHz and AWS bands — both of which AT&T plans to use for its LTE network if the T-Mobile acquisition goes through.

We’re also told that the Apple Store in question, and all those in the region, are now trying to increase staffing on the sales floor by about 30 percent, which is apparently not related to the usual hiring in the lead up to the holidays (that will apparently still happen later). Of course, this could simply be the result of some long-term planning rather than evidence of the next iPhone, but the timing is a bit curious to say the least.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/16/why-is-lte-equipment-being-installed-in-an-apple-store/

OS X Lion Thumb Drive Hits the Market

Mac users without access to high-speed Internet or a local Apple Store can now order an OS X Lion USB thumb drive for $69 from Apple’s online store. The drive ships in one to three business days and costs more than double the price of a $30 Lion download from Apple’s Mac App Store. Apple announced in July when Lion became available to the public that it would start selling Lion USB sticks for those unable, or perhaps unwilling, to use Apple’s digital store front.

The flash drive requires 7 GB of free space on your hard drive as well as a minimum Core 2 Duo processor with 2 GB RAM. Apple also cautions that installing Lion with the USB thumb drive means you will not be able to use the Lion Recovery tool built into OS X Lion. Instead, you will have to use the purchased thumb drive should you need to reinstall the new Mac OS. Lion Recovery creates a separate partition on your hard drive with a bootable version of Lion to let you reinstall the OS by hitting Command-R at boot time.

If you’ve already downloaded and installed Lion through the Mac App Store, but wish you had a hard copy of the OS just in case, you can download the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant from Apple for free. The disk assistant provides an easier way to create an external drive loaded with a bootable copy of Lion.

Apple’s decision to offer Lion via the Mac App Store appears to have paid off. The company said it sold more than one million Lion downloads during the first 24 hours the latest version of OS X was available.

Apple says it added more than 250 new features to Lion such as enhanced multitouch gesture support, full screen apps, automated document version history, and an iOS-inspired app icon grid called Launchpad.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/238157/os_x_lion_thumb_drive_hits_the_market.html

Avoid socializing by pretending to use your phone? You’re not alone

If you pretend to use your cell phone to avoid talking to others, congratulations—you are part of the rudest 13 percent of the American public. According to a new study from the Pew Research Center, while 83 percent of American adults have a cell phone of some kind, only 13 percent have pretended to use them so they didn’t have to interact with someone.

Americans are still using phones by and large for useful things: 73 percent text, and 44 percent use their phone to access the Internet, even though only 35 percent have smartphones. Most cell phone owners have recently used their phones to obtain information they needed immediately (51 percent), but less than 6 percent on average have used their phone for a video call.

A sizable portion of people have become so dependent on their phones, they struggle to accomplish tasks when it’s not accessible: 27 percent reported having trouble doing something within the last month because their phones were not at hand. But even more cell phone owners willfully do without their devices on occasion, with 29 percent reporting they turned off their phones for a period of time just to get a break.

You’d find yourself in better company if you use your phone to stave off boredom, which 42 percent of users do. In fact, we’d go so far as to say that if you need to pretend to use your cell phone, like that disingenuous 13 percent, you’re just being lazy—Cut the Rope, or even Centipede, is just as good for evading conversation with strangers as a fake phone call.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/08/13-percent-of-cell-phone-owners-fake-use-them-to-avoid-social-interactions.ars

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Thundercats STILL! Reading ‘In The Plex’

Gozer: Trenched on XBLA. Gears of War 3 Horde 2.0. Met a new neighbor!

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The Geek’s Choice: Abobo’s Big Adventure!!

Abobo’s Big Adventure is a parody game which pays tribute to the 8-bit glory days of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

One simple goal: make Abobo’s Big Adventure the *ultimate* tribute to the Nintendo Entertainment System. This is the game that any kid who grew up on the NES always dreamed of playing and it goes beyond anything the system ever could’ve been capable of.

For those of you wondering if the game will be for sale, the answer is NO. Abobo’s Big Adventure is simply a labor of love and will be available to play for free on the web. The game really pushes the limits of what Flash is capable of and you will soon have control of the most unappreciated, brutal, rage-fueled character in the entire pixelated universe in your hands.

Some tributes include: The marquee shows: Punch-Out’s Little Mac, Jaws, and The Amazon from Pro Wrestling. Some stages include Kung Fu, Ninja Gaiden & Super Mario Bros.

Saw a ContraBoBo level where you fought zombies from Ghouls & Ghosts, Jason, Robocop & Krang During the demo, a prompt came up of an NES controller commanding you to put in the code!

http://www.abobosbigadventure.com/about.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRPZNHXbPU0&feature=related

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Featured Segment: This is a short show, will return next week.

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Feedback & Items of Note:

No more Google+ for us! As expected, we were kicked out.

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #280 – The Half-Year Review

geekcast — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:45:23 +0000

News:

London Riots: Social Media Mobilizes Riot Cleanup

After days of riots in London, thousands of Londoners and worldwide supporters are taking to social networks to help reclaim the streets of London.

While rioters took to the underground paths of BlackBerry Messenger to organize, the highly spreadable mediums of Twitter and Facebook have shown to be the perfect platforms for mobilizing cleanup organizers and followers in the early aftermath of the rioting.

For the most part, organization has been very smooth, with a few key hubs across social platforms taking root. The @RiotCleanup Twitter page has amassed more than 50,000 followers in fewer than 10 hours and is consistently broadcasting cleanup locations and times, along with other pertinent information regarding the initiative.

On Facebook, a similar page has emerged as the central location for information on the world’s largest social network.

And for a more static look at where the action is, riotcleanup.co.uk is being constantly updated with cleanup location information. In an email interview with Ian, the creator of the website and resident of rural Shropshire, England, he explained:

“I was sitting at home following the #londonriots hashtag — then I saw #riotcleanup start to appear. I am not in London, but wanted to do something. Near enough simultaneously, I registered riotcleanup.co.uk as someone else got the Twitter account @riotcleanup going. Then, I just knocked something together as fast as possible and uploaded it!”

Beyond the riot cleanup, another effort to catch and prosecute looters has taken root, with the Tumblr account “Catch A Looter” accepting and posting images of looters for identification.

http://mashable.com/2011/08/09/riot-cleanup-london/

Skype 2.1 for Android enables video on majority of Android devices

We promised to add support for additional handsets when we launched our new Skype for Android app with video a couple of weeks ago. Today we are pleased to announce that with the release of Skype 2.1 for Android, we are rolling out video support for an additional 17 of the most popular Android devices. Download the updated Skype for Android app from theAndroid Market or Skype.com/m using your Android phone’s browser or just scan the QR code below.

The list of Android devices we’ve added Skype video support for include:

Acer A5

HTC Desire (2.2)

HTC Desire HD

HTC Evo 3D

HTC Evo 4G

HTC Flyer

HTC Incredible S

HTC Sensation

HTC Thunderbolt – Verizon (2.2) (US only)

LG Revolution – Verizon (2.2) (US only)

Samsung Droid Charge – Verizon (2.2) (US only)

Samsung Galaxy S

Samsung Galaxy S II

Samsung Galaxy Tab

Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY

Sony Ericsson Xperia ray

Is your device not on the list? No need to worry…

For those of you using Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above, you should still be able to enable video calling in your Skype settings. Just go to “Skype settings” after launching the app and select “enable video calling”.

Unfortunately, if you cannot see the video calling settings, it means your Android phone does not meet the minimum requirements needed to make Skype video calls. Please be aware that video call quality may not be as good as on a certified Android device and only the back camera of the device will work if your device is running on Android 2.2 (Froyo).

In addition, the Skype 2.1 for Android update includes a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements, which should further boost the user experience of Skype for Android on your phone.

We are really excited that video calling with Skype for Android with video calling is now available on the majority of Android handsets, so you can easily share moments wherever you are with the people that matter most to you.

http://blogs.skype.com/en/2011/08/skype_21_for_android.html

MobileMe users to get 25GB of storage in upcoming iCloud transition

Apple continues to slowly release information about iCloud as developers gain access to more and more features during the beta testing period. It now appears that, as part of the migration to iCloud, paid MobileMe subscribers will get an extra 20GB of storage at no charge for the first year. However, in the process of migrating, users will lose some useful data syncing features.

Apple made the unusual step of releasing a new beta of iOS 5 to developers over the weekend—such updates are typically released during the week when both Apple’s engineers and most developers are actively working. In addition to the iOS update, Apple also enabled the ability for registered developers to migrate an existing MobileMe account to iCloud to test the account migration features.

There’s plenty of good news for those migrating from MobileMe. According to screenshots posted by 9to5Mac, your existing me.com e-mail address will be moved over to the new servers, as will contacts and calendars. MobileMe users can use existing Gallery, iDisk, and iWeb publishing features until MobileMe is shut down on June 30, 2012, even after migrating an account. And since paid MobileMe accounts originally came with 20GB of storage, Apple will automatically add 20GB to the free 5GB of iCloud storage space.

The transition won’t be problem-free, however. As Apple previously warned, Dashboard widgets, Dock items, Keychains, Mail accounts—including rules, signatures, and Smart Mailboxes—and System Preferences will no longer sync between Macs. Also, shared calendars are affected somewhat in the transition process—a source told Ars that private calendars are only viewable by other iCloud users, while public calendars have to be re-published after moving to iCloud. As MacRumors noted, users migrating from MobileMe will be set up to automatically renew the extra 20GB of storage on June 30, 2012 for $40 per year. You can downgrade to the free 5GB before next year and avoid the automatic billing, though.

It’s unfortunate that iCloud will lose useful features like Keychain and Preference syncing. However, some features could eventually reappear if Apple updates apps like Mail or Keychain Access to use the new iCloud data storage APIs available in Lion.

iCloud is currently in beta and only accessible to registered developers, though it is expected to launch this fall around the same time as iOS 5. In addition to e-mail, contact, and calendar data, iCloud will also enable users to sync photos, videos, and other data among computers and mobile devices. It will also allow iTunes Store users to access previously purchased music, videos, and apps, with additional iTunes library syncing available separately as iTunes Match.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/08/mobileme-users-to-get-25gb-of-storage-in-upcoming-icloud-transition.ars

Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and XpanD finally team up for an active 3D glasses standard

The lack of a universal standard for active shutter 3D glasses became painfully clear during our 3D TV shootout last year, and gave plenty of reasons for buyers to skip the pricey specs altogether. Nine months later we see that LG has jumped onto passive 3D and CEA is playing catch up on the IR glasses problem, but many of the new HDTVs for 2011 are using Bluetooth technology to keep their glasses in sync — again without any promise of cross-manufacturer compatibility.

A day late and a few dollars short, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and universal glasses maker XpanD are announcing the “Full HD Glasses Initiative” which should lay down a standard for consumer active shutter glasses to communicate over Bluetooth or IR. The new glasses should be backwards compatible with this year’s TVs, although early adopters from 2010 have no such guarantee. The press release (included after the break) indicates we can expect the new models to arrive in 2012, assuming they haven’t lost more ground to the FPR army and can still convince buyers to even look at 3D by then.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/08/panasonic-sony-samsung-and-xpand-finally-team-up-for-an-active/

Apple releases Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, asserts its dominance over Snow Leopard

Distributing your OS digitally certainly makes for an easy upgrade, but what happens when your hard disk spontaneously combusts — taking Lion’s recovery partition with it? Unless you planned ahead and rolled your own install image, you were stuck taking an arduous and painful detour back to Snow Leopard before being given the chance to re-up with Cupertino’s latest.

That changes today, with the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, a utility that duplicates the OS’s recovery partition onto an external drive of your choosing — allowing you to boot directly into an installer which’ll re-download the latest jungle cat, sans sojourn to 10.6. To do so, you’ll need an external drive larger than 1GB, a machine running Lion, and the 1MB assistant we’ve linked below.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/08/apple-releases-lion-recovery-disk-assistant-asserts-its-dominan/

More Black Ops Map Packs!!!!!!!!

The Pack will include the original four WaW zombie maps, Nacht Der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa and Der Riese which have been upgraded to feature the Black Ops Engine, a brand new zombies map played on the Moon, Yes, the Moon! The official Call Of Duty Black Ops Zombie Soundtrack and an Xbox Exclusive Zombie Moon Dashboard Theme.

Now, for all of you people that have bought either the Hardened or Prestige edition of Call Of Duty: Black Ops, You may feel short changed by the fact that you already own the four original zombie maps, well don’t worry, Activision is offering this DLC for FREE! Yes you read correctly, Activision are offering something for FREE! Anybody who has purchased either the Hardened or Prestige edition of Call Of Duty: Black Ops and has redeemed the original zombie maps code may download this new pack for free by re-downloading the classic pack via their download history or, if you haven’t redeemed the classic code, just redeem it and you have the Rezurrection Pack!

Rezurrection will be available for download August 23 for 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE. All players will receive double experience over the Labor Day weekend to celebrate its release.

http://xboxfreedom.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-rezurrection-dlc/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron:

Started season 4 of The IT Crowd. So clever & funny.

Canceling Netflix for good or going to streaming-only plan. Rarely use it and that’s money better spent elsewhere.

Trying to figure out which is cheaper: Verizon or AT&T family plans with 2 lines on iPhones.

Gozer:

Canon Vixia HFS20 BP819, 1780mah battery

Freddy Krueger on MK

Updated Amazon Wishlist

Breaking Bad coincidence

iPad 2

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The Geek’s Choice: How-to: Make your Library folder visible again in OS X Lion

Show User ~/Library in OS X Lion

Launch Terminal from Spotlight or Launchpad -> Utilities, and enter the following command to show or hide the directory:
chflags nohidden ~/Library/
The users Library folder will immediately become visible again. Reverting this back to the standard Lion setting is simple too:
Hide User ~/Library in OS X Lion (default setting)

This returns to the default setting of hiding the user Library directory:
chflags hidden ~/Library
Changes take effect immediately again, and Library becomes invisible to the user.

http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/04/show-library-directory-in-mac-os-x-lion/

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Featured Segment: Looking Back, Looking Forward: The tech of 2011 so far

The year is half over and it’s a good time to look back on the big tech of the year, things that flopped and what we’re looking forward heading into December.

-iPad 2
-Nintendo 3DS
-Netflix is everywhere
-Google TV still nowhere to be found
-Social networks (FB, twitter, G+)
-Windows Phone 7
-Where’s the next-gen consoles? Wii 2?
-Will iPhone 5 *REALLY* come out this year?

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Feedback & Items of Note:

From Wes:

The future of gaming graphics: http://kotaku.com/5826788/could-this-graphics-tech-revolutionize-the-way-video-games-look

And….

Hi. I was wondering what your take is on this article:

http://kotaku.com/5820488/the-day-comcasts-data-cap-policy-killed-my-internet-for-1-year

This would seem to be totally at odds with the Cloud. Storing all of my music, pictures, movies, etc. on the cloud seems great, but getting them there might take forever if I can only do it in small chunks. Thoughts?

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We are on Google+! Because Google may be shutting down any profiles that aren’t of a specific person, we’re not sure if we’ll get taken down but for now, you can check us out at gplus.to/TheGeekcast.

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #279 – Daria Musk Interview

geekcast — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:30:45 +0000

News:

3DS price drops to $170 on August 12

Nintendo has just announced that the price on the 3DS will drop to $169.99 stateside on August 12. That’s down from $250 currently, which we don’t have to tell you is a pretty shocking drop, considering the tech involved and how recently the system was released.

A similar cut in Japan (effective August 11) will take the system from 25,000 Yen (around $317) to 15,000 Yen ($190). We don’t yet have a specific price for a corresponding European cut, but Nintendo tells Eurogamer the price will drop by “about a third.”

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/07/28/3ds-price-drops-to-170-on-august-12/

Best Buy launches Insignia connected TVs with DVR-less TiVo

Right on schedule, Best Buy’s announced it’s good and ready to ship two Insignia-branded connected televisions with TiVo’s UI — minus the whole DVR thing, that is. The two 1080p sets, available in 32- and 42-inch flavors, are landing months after the retailer said it was buddying up with TiVo to borrow its user interface — and only that, there’s no indication these will play nicely with Premiere DVRs and theirmultiroom streaming at launch — for searching content and also just getting up and running easily.

As you’d expect, folks perusing these sets can watch movies from Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube, as well as stream from Pandora and Napster. Rounding out the list of apps are Facebook, Twitter, Photobucket, and Chumby, with more to come, Best Buy tells us. In addition to the easy access to content, the story here is that the UI plays nice with existing cable boxes, making the installation easy even if the person holding the remote doesn’t happen to have a lengthy serial number on hand. Look for the 32-inch number for $499, with the 42-incher fetching $699.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/01/best-buy-launches-insignia-connected-tvs-with-dvr-less-tivo/

Square handling $4 million daily in mobile payments

PayPal mobile payment rival Square has said that it now processes approximately $4 million daily in mobile payments, $1 million more than Square advertised it handled at the end of May.

Square has clearly sailed beyond any shadows cast by the nasty volley begun by CEO of competitor VeriFone, Doug Bergeron, and answered by Square’s CEO and co-founder, Jack Dorsey that called into question the security of Square’s credit-card reading attachment for mobile devices.

Instead, the increased processing numbers reflect Square’s booming growth, a rise that has been bolstered by a sizable investment from Visa in late April. A recent funding round of $100 million has swept the payments start-up to a $1 billion valuation.

Despite the important uptick for Square in particular, it and the rest of the mobile payments market have a long way to go. To put payments into perspective, credit card companies will process billions of dollars in payments on a given day, and mobile payments–still an inchoate, although rapidly expanding portion of the industry–can hope to garner a tiny percentage of total credit card activity this year.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20086463-94/square-handling-$4-million-daily-in-mobile-payments/#ixzz1Ts0oFQsI

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Hot Wheels Back to the Future SDCC edition! Spartacus: Vengeance in January

Gozer: My new hot water heater, furnace & air conditioner!!

Google +

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The Geek’s Choice: Cartoons!!!!

Thundercats ( cartoon network)

Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C, which provided animation for Warner Bros. films The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, will be working on the artwork and animation for the new series. Sam Register (Teen Titans, Ben 10) will be the executive producer and is joined by Michael Jelenic (Wonder Woman, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and Ethan Spaulding (Avatar: The Last Airbender) as the producers for the series.[16] The show will explain Lion-O’s ascension to the Thunderean throne with a more original feel and darker style than the 1980s series.[17] In early November 2010, former Lion-O voice actor Larry Kenney revealed that he would be playing the role of Lion-O’s father Claudus in the opening three-part episode of the new series.[18]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThunderCats

Wolverine & Iron Man ( G4)

G4 is the exclusive U.S. television home of the four brand-new anime series, guided by New York Times best-selling author Warren Ellis (Iron Man: Extremis, Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis) and produced by Madhouse for Marvel Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan. The cable channel offers the last word on gaming, technology, animation, interactivity and “geek culture.” Adrian Pasdar (“Heroes,” “Castle,” “Profit”) will lend his voice to the character of Tony Stark in “Iron Man” while Milo Ventimiglia (“Heroes,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Rocky Balboa”) takes on the title role in “Wolverine.”

Later this year X-Men & Blade will also premiere exclusively on G4

http://eclipsemagazine.com/anime/25582/

I have discovered Robot Chicken!!

Ghost of Liberachi & Bob the Builder

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Featured Segment: Interview: Daria Musk

Today we have the pleasure of speaking to musician Daria Musk. Daria has made big news in the past couple of weeks by being the first person to hold a concert on Google+.

Questions:

A. What is your geek cred?

1. How did you get started in music?

2. Who has been your inspiration?

3. How did you come up with the idea of a G+ hangout concert?

4. What did you find to be the most challenging parts of doing a virtual concert?

5. What has the reception been like? How has it affected your career in music?

6. When can we get some of your music?

7. You’re quite the science nerd. Can you tell us more?

8. Where can we find you online? http://www.dariamusk.com

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Feedback & Items of Note:

From Joseph via G+: My three year old has been getting potty treats from MattyCollector.com. Figured you guys would be cool with that, since Gozer talked about the Ghostbusters toys & your both dads.

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Our listener survey is up! You can fill it out here and let us know what you like, dislike and wish to see The Geekcast change in the future. We appreciate all the feedback so far. Keep it coming!

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #278 – OS X Lion Review

geekcast — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:00:15 +0000

News:

Facebook iPad app ‘hidden’ in iPhone code

Facebook’s long-awaited iPad app might actually be hidden in the company’s latest iPhone app update, TechCrunch is reporting.

According to the blog, Facebook’s latest update to its iPhone app, version 3.4.4, includes executable code that allows users with jailbroken iPads to access and use the social network’s full, native tablet application.

A Facebook iPad app has topped the wish lists of the social network’s users for quite some time. The company currently offers full-featured smartphone applications across several different operating systems, including iOS and Android, but iPad owners need to access Facebook via their Safari browser.

Since the launch of the iPad, rumors have cropped up from time to time claiming Facebook was nearing the launch of its tablet application. Last month, for example, The New York Times reported that the social network would be launching its iPad app “in the coming weeks.”

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20082879-17/report-facebook-ipad-app-hidden-in-iphone-code/?tag=cnetRiver

Netflix ‘hates’ upsetting customers, but most won’t cancel

Netflix said today that it “hates” upsetting customers by raising prices as much as 60 percent and acknowledged that the customer backlash to the rate hike would likely stifle growth and hurt earnings in the short term.

But in the long run, Netflix expects the price hike to yield some important benefits and may help the company hit a key benchmark: generate $1 billion in revenue during a single quarter. No doubt, many Netflix subscribers won’t be impressed with that figure since some of that money will be coming out of their pockets. For people who hoped Netflix would reverse its decision on the price increase, the company’s remarks suggest that isn’t going to happen.

“Some subscribers will cancel Netflix or downgrade their Netflix plans,” the company said in a note to investors after it issued its second-quarter earnings report. “We expect most to stay with us because each of our $7.99 plans is an incredible value. We hate making our subscribers upset with us, but we feel like we provide a fantastic service and we’re working hard to further improve the quality and range of our streaming content in (the fourth quarter) and beyond.

Netflix acknowledged that by announcing the price boost months in advance, the company will lose customers in the current quarter but won’t see any of the financial benefits from the increase until the fourth. So while financial performance will be pressured in this quarter, which ends September 30, the company expects the new pricing strategy to pay off in the fourth quarter.

“Revenue will reflect a full quarter’s impact of the pricing changes, which could result in (the fourth quarter) being our first billion dollar global revenue quarter,” the company said.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20083201-261/netflix-hates-upsetting-customers-but-most-wont-cancel/?tag=cnetRiver

AT&T Reportedly Prepping for iPhone Launch in ‘Early to Mid-September’

BGR reports that AT&T is beginning preparations for an expected “early to mid-September” launch of the next-generation iPhone, in line with launch rumors and expectations and other reports of Apple beefing up its retail store staffing over a similar timeframe.

BGR has exclusively learned that AT&T has begun communicating launch plans internally for Apple’s next-generation iPhone 5 handset. We have been told that AT&T has begun informing employees across the company, and those who work in retail locations, to finish any sort of employee training as soon as possible. AT&T is asking managers to finish training in order to have employees available for the influx of foot traffic expected in September, a proven source has shared with us.

Apple has been preparing to increase staffing at its retail stores in the United States and United Kingdom, and rumors have suggested that Apple will use its traditional fall iPod media event to introduce the next-generation iPhone this year. That event has typically taken place in early September, although some reports have pushed that date up into late August this year ahead of a September launch for the device. Apple has announced that iOS 5 will debut this “fall”, and that software launch will undoubtedly occur right around the release of the next-generation hardware.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/25/att-reportedly-prepping-for-iphone-launch-in-early-to-mid-september/

Verizon Mistakenly Leaks Video Of The Touchscreen-Sporting BlackBerry Bold 9930

Mistakes happen. Sometimes they spur a round of seriously unwanted consequences, but every once in a while, a mistake pays off. Maybe not for the person who screwed up, which in this case would be someone in charge of Verizon’s website, but definitely for us. If you have yet to pick up what I’m putting down, this morning brought with it another leak — the BlackBerry Bold 9930.

Verizon accidentally posted a video demo of the Bold 9930 in place of what should be a video demo of the BlackBerry Bold 9650. So if you find yourself on the Verizon site browsing through the smartphones, go ahead and click through to the Bold 9650. If you click into the video, a Verizon rep named Blake will appear in a demo and tell you how great the BlackBerry Bold 9930 is.

According to Blake, the 9930 is the thinnest BlackBerry ever and will run the latest version of BlackBerry 7 OS. The phone touts a 1.2 GHz processor and a 5-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and flash that is capable of video capture in 720p. Blake also promises that the new 9930 has a larger QWERTY keyboard than older BlackBerry models along with 8GB of internal memory expandable with a 32GB microSD card.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/26/verizon-mistakenly-leaks-video-of-the-touchscreen-sporting-blackberry-bold-9930/

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Geek This Week:

Aaron: Really psyched for the return of Thundercats! Cartoon Network has some trailers up on YouTube and the show debuts on Friday night.

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The Geek’s Choice: Phosphor eInk Watches

These watches use the same technology found in the Kindle, Nook and other eBook readers out there. It’s incredibly fun because the face switches from ‘analog’ to digital, plus you can display the time in positive or negative formats. Really fun to wear!

http://www.phosphorwatches.com/

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Featured Segment: Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

-LaunchPad
-Mission Control
-Reverse Scrolling
-App Store
-Updated Mail
-Full Screen Apps

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Feedback & Items of Note:

Our listener survey is up! You can fill it out here and let us know what you like, dislike and wish to see The Geekcast change in the future. We appreciate all the feedback so far. Keep it coming!

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Sponsors:

The Geekcast #277- Hanging Out on Google Plus

geekcast — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 20:53:40 +0000

News:

Lion Launches Tomorrow, July 20, On Mac App Store

In his introductory statement during the Q3 earnings call today, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer disclosed that OS X Lion will be released on the Mac App Store tomorrow, July 20.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/19/lion-launches-tomorrow-on-mac-app-store/

College Students Can Now Rent Textbooks Electronically From Amazon

A month or so before back-to-school season begins in earnest, Amazon has jumped into the lucrative college textbook market with Kindle Textbook Rental.Amazon claims students can save as much as 80% off textbook list prices by renting from the Kindle Store. The company is offering tens of thousands of textbooks, which students can rent for periods ranging from 30 to 360 days. Amazon has also extended its Whispersnyc technology so that students can access all their notes and highlighted content in the Amazon Cloud, even after the rental agreement is over.

Amazon’s entry, which comes after rival Barnes & Noble‘s, arrives as the National Association of College Stores estimates that U.S. college stores posted $10.25 billion in sales for the 2009-2010 fiscal year with each student spending $745 on average.

Amazon, of course, has had tremendous success converting the general market to ebooks. In May, the online retailer announced sales for its digital book format had surpassed hardcover sales. Meanwhile, publishers — aware of the migration into ebooks — are attempting to get ahead of the trend as well. In January, McGraw-Hill launched its first cloud-based textbook, which was aimed at the K-12 market.
http://mashable.com/2011/07/18/amazon-textbook-kindle/

Microsoft opens Garage to spark innovation

…The Garage, a Microsoft initiative to encourage innovation among employees. The two-year-old program helps incubate those side projects that employees want to dive into but can only find time for at night and over weekends.

The Garage gives workers access to tools such as a soldering bench, a laser cutter and a 3D printer. It offers instrumentation for testing prototypes. The Garage will host Web applications. But maybe most important, it connects workers to colleagues with similar interests or needed skills, something that can be challenge at a company with nearly 90,000 employees.

“The goal was to figure out how we could support grassroots innovation,” said Garage director Quinn Hawkins.

The Garage, until now, has been more concept than location. But last week, Microsoft opened the doors to the newly remodeled Garage building, and CNET got the first public tour. The company gutted much of the darkly lit, confusing warren of offices in building 4, where longtime employees could still sometimes get turned around. It’s one of the oldest Microsoft buildings in Redmond.

“In the bathrooms, there were still things like ‘IBM sucks,’” Hawkins said.

It took six months to remodel the 60,000 square foot building. Now, the building has huge open gathering spaces and plenty of new windows to let in daylight. Sprinkled around the building are new “pods,” temporary work spaces where teams of two, three, or five employees can set up shop to collaborate on projects for weeks at a time.

And just past the reception area is a meeting room that can be opened up to create a larger space by raising two garage doors.

“The inspiration came from all the great companies that started in a garage,” Hawkins said, legendary tech firms such as Hewlett-Packard and Amazon.

That’s important because Microsoft has become a place in recent years where little ideas get lost in the shuffle. For a company that’s expected to generate about $70 billion in annual sales when it announces fourth-quarter results Thursday, an idea that might lead to a $10 million a year business, or even $100 million a year one, can quickly slip through the cracks.

Earlier this year, Microsoft shuttered Pioneer Studios, a skunkworks operation to develop consumer electronics and experiences. To some of the company’s entrepreneurial employees who’d rather come up with the next breakthrough innovation rather than milk Microsoft’s core Windows and Office franchises, the seeming indifference to niche innovations has been a source of frustration.

That’s because sometimes, those little breakthroughs turn into massive new businesses. That’s why Microsoft launched the Garage. In addition to getting the new space, the Garage also hosts “science fairs,” where employees put together poster-board presentations to show off their creations. Judges, wearing white lab coats, select winners, who get to ignite a homemade volcano dubbed Mount St. Awesome as their reward.

Beyond the silliness, the science fairs also offer workers the opportunity to vet their ideas among the hundreds of colleagues who stop by and connect with employees who might offer their expertise. Microsoft held six Garage science fairs last year, which featured anywhere from 32 to 49 different projects. Most are held in Redmond, though Hawkins traveled to Microsoft’s Hyderabad, India office for a science fair there last month.

Microsoft has also begun holding “Garage weeks,” where business units stop working on Microsoft products. Instead, employees focus on pet projects. Sometimes, their creations have nothing to do with Microsoft’s business whatsoever. One employee spent a week working on a self-leveling skateboard, something of a Segway for the skate crowd. Sometimes, they’re only peripherally related, such as an immunization tracker application for Windows Phones to help parents keep tabs on the different vaccines their children had received.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20080542-75/microsoft-opens-garage-to-spark-innovation/#ixzz1SYHQZpus

Star Wars Blu-ray extras revealed early by iOS app launching at Comic-Con

We’re still a few months away from the Star Wars movies release on Blu-ray, but dedicated fans can get a preview of the set this week in the Early Access app for iOS.Set to debut in time for Comic-Con on July 20th, the free app promises some of the 40+ hours of bonus materials planned for the discs, including concept art, models and interviews with cast and crew. We’ve already seen iPad apps pulling in extras to go along with movies like Tron: Legacy, but this is the first one we’ve seen launch ahead of the Blu-ray release.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/18/star-wars-blu-ray-extras-revealed-early-by-ios-app-launching-at/

15 Rad Retro Office Accessories [PICS]

If you prefer vintage style to boring, mass-produced design, then you’re going to love our gallery of gorgeous retro accessories perfect for your office.

From gadgets with old-school looks to accessories with some ace retro design, our collection encompasses lighting, decor, tools and more.

Take a look through the 15 products we’ve hand-picked in the photo gallery below, and let us know in the comments which objets take your fancy.
http://mashable.com/2011/07/17/retro-office-accessories/#view_as_one_page-gallery_box1875

**************Geek This Week:

Aaron: Per Barry’s recommendation in last week’s episode, I watched the ‘Beyond Black Mesa’ short film that takes place in the Half-Life universe. Really well done and it amazes me how far amateur film making has come in just the past 10 years!

Bought a pre-order BTTF Hot Wheels that will be sold at SDCC this weekend. Of course having a real Delorean isn’t enough, I have to have every toy of it as well.

Still have a on and off desire to get a typewriter. No idea why but I think it’s the writer in me. Found the Olivetti Studio 45 series, which looks really cool. Unfortunately they’re $300 for cursive type, which is a lot to spend on a novelty. Standard print ones can be had for about $100. May go for it at some point but it’s nice to know they’re out there on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/search/vintage?search_submit=&q=Olivetti+Studio+45

Gozer: Virtua Tennis (season mode), Shadows of the Damned & MK ( Kenshi & Rain)

Breaking Bad Season 4.

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The Geek’s Choice: Capture Pictures & Video from Internet

1) Screen Recorder – capture video to MOV video. Adjust the capture window to the size you need, place it over the video you want captured, go to the screen recorder menu and it record. Settings for automatic stopping time, full screen & recording sound ( through your own computer speakers) $.99!!

2) Screenshots – Grab any window, your entire desktop or “frame” exactly what you want captured. Copy, save, and print your screenshots. File formats: png, jpg, jpg2000,tiff,bmp or gif

**************Featured Segment: Getting the most out of Google Plus

Google+ Debuts in App Store. Google+ for mobile makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler. Huddle lets you send super-fast messages to the people you care about most. And no matter where you are, the stream lets you stay in the loop about what your friends are sharing and where they’re checking in.

Features:
* Circles let you share the right things with just the right people.
* Stream is where you can get updates from your circles or see what people are saying about things nearby.
* Huddle is super-fast group messaging for everyone in your circles.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/19/google-debuts-in-app-store/
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google/id447119634?ls=1&mt=8

Find scheduled hangouts: http://www.gphangouts.com

Ben Parr from Mashable has a comprehensive Google Plus guide: http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/

Simon Laustsen has a fantastic Google Plus cheat sheet. Some tips include: use ** to bold text, _ _ for italics and – - for a strike-through. Hot keys include: J and K to scroll down and up, Q jumps to chat, Return / Enter starts a comment. https://plus.google.com/photos/108443027359212340995/albums/5625655838907702241/5625655876328285922

Natalie Villalobos, a community manager for G+, has a list of all Google employees who work on G+ and interact with everyone. It’s a great way to hear the latest enhancements to the service and also ask direct questions about something you need to know. https://plus.google.com/u/1/109895887909967698705/posts/3KXWtWCqxuB

There are a bunch of Chrome extensions that make G+ amazing! Two I use are ‘G+ Count in Title Bar’ (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dcdelcombiokflhgdlmdcfbdfogaplij#) and ‘Notification Count for Google Plus’ (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ehcjeejpbinpibjicmpcdeenfmehlpjk?hl=en-US) which places a dedicated button next to Chrome’s Omnibar and will poll your notification-count every minute.

Agent G Automatically Posts Your Google+ Updates to Twitter. Agent G is a Google+ account that will synchronize your Google+ posts to your Twitter account. Once Agent G has rights to post to your Twitter account, simply share anything on Google+ with Agent G that you want re-posted to Twitter, and the app will handle it for you. http://lifehacker.com/5822424/agent-g-automatically-posts-your-google%252B-updates-to-twitter

From Eric Rogers on G+: How to put Google+ iOS App on your iPad.

Download & install the following for your Mac or PC.

iPhone Configuration Utility 3.3 for Mac OS X
http://goo.gl/czNtE

iPhone Configuration Utility 3.3 for Windows
http://goo.gl/nANsr

Download Google+ from iTunes
http://goo.gl/P1n1t

Add Google+ in the iPhone Configuration Utility app and then find your iPad in the devices section and locate the App. “EmSea” aka Google+. Press Install

The downside to this hack is that every time you sync iTunes will delete the app from your iPad. Simply repeat this process every time you sync or whenever a new version of the app is released.

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